According to USDA’s Sept. 23 Crop Progress report, 7% of corn has been harvested, but few growers in the big corn states have taken their combines out the shed. Meanwhile, soybeans still have a lot of catching up to do. Overall, the condition of both crops is little changed from the past few weeks.

The abundant rainfall and resulting vegetation during 2019 has provided grasshoppers with more food than normal. And while it's possible that grasshoppers are still content feeding in non-crop areas, it's important to scout emerging winter wheat for feeding injury, according to South Dakota State University.

Corn in the dough stage improved from last week’s rate of 89% to 93% as of Sept. 15. This still remains behind the corn in the dough stage percentage from Sept. 15, 2018 of 99% and the 5 year average of 98%.

Soon many producers will be starting to plant small grains. For practical guidance, check out this list of important things to consider when planting wheat and other small grains in the coming weeks from the University of Illinois.

In many nitrogen-fixing bacteria, a protein called RirA plays a key role in regulating iron by sensing high levels of the metal and shutting down the production of proteins that bring in more iron. RirA contains a cluster of four iron and four sulfur atoms, which acts as a sensor for iron availability. But until now, exactly how this cluster structure detects iron levels in a cell was unclear, says the University of East Anglia.

The Trump administration has revoked an Obama-era regulation that shielded many U.S. wetlands and streams from pollution but was opposed by developers and farmers who said it hurt economic development and infringed on property rights.

The Soil Health Institute and National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition have released a report serving as a comprehensive review of each new provision and its role in advancing soil health. The report also compares funding for soil health in the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills.

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Midwest Bio-Tech, we're joined by former NRCS soil health specialist Jim Hoorman who explains how improving soil structure with no-till and cover crops can help alleviate compaction problems.