Tight Tassel Wrap

Iowa Corn Has High Potential, Illinois Crop Looks Average and Soybeans Shine in Both States

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 23:58:02 GMT

Bright orange is a great color for pumpkins but not so much for corn. Nonetheless, that was the prevailing color Brent Judisch reports seeing as he evaluated crops Wednesday morning in northwest Iowa’s Harrison County.

“Our first six or seven samples were terrible with southern rust,” says Judisch, a Pro Farmer Crop Tour scout and Iowa farmer. “We saw three fields in a row that were actually gross. I walked out of them just covered with it. After that, while we’ve seen it all day, it’s been more in the lower leaves and not nearly as drastic.”

Chip Flory, lead scout for the western leg of the tour, says the northwest Iowa crop is the best and worst he’s ever seen.

“In the snapshot that we took of it, and the measurables we saw in the field today, it is the best corn crop,” Flory reported during the tour’s nightly live broadcast.

But the disease pressure in the Iowa crop has Flory spooked.

“Disease pressure is putting a lot of bushels — a huge number of bushels — at risk,” he adds. “You can take 20, 30 bushels off of corn yield with what southern rust can do to the crop, even at this late stage in the game. It’s a dangerous crop that we’re looking at out here right now.”

Chip Flory says he was surprised to see corn that was well into R5 (dent) in northwest Iowa. “I can’t tell if it was this mature because of pressure from the southern rust, or if it was because of higher nighttime temperatures at pollination,” he reports. “I am concerned about how much disease is out here, and what it’s going to look like in another week or two.”

(Chip Flory, Host of AgriTalk)

Can The Iowa Corn Crop Still Hit A Record?
The Iowa corn results were a big shocker on Wednesday, given the amount of disease pressure scouts saw, according to Emily Flory Carolan, Pro Farmer Crop Tour data consultant.

“I would say all three districts were setting new records. They were consistently high in all measurements for corn in ear count, inches long and kernels around,” she says.

Carolan’s summary of the results scouts tallied in Iowa revealed some high yield estimates, despite the disease pressure:

*District 1 was 197.89 bushels, up 12.06% versus 2024 and up 9.89% versus the three-year average.

*District 4 was 207.25 bushels, up 5.82% versus last year and up 14.01% versus the three-year average.

*District 7 came in at 195.03 bushels, up 1.80% versus 2024 and up 6.35% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Flory is concerned southern rust will impact standability in the Iowa crop, which he says is starting to dent in areas, and cause some of it to go down.

“I’d want to keep an eye on the stalk condition of this crop, because if this disease pressure continues, farmers are going to want to get out and prioritize fields for harvest before we get there,” he adds.

Illinois Corn Crop Looks Average
Scouts report the Illinois corn crop appears lush from the road, but once they walked out into fields, picked ears and pulled back husks, most described finding an average crop.

“We’ve seen some good corn, we’ve seen some average corn and we’ve some stuff that’s got a long way to go,” tour scout Jake Guse told U.S. Farm Report’s Tyne Morgan on Wednesday morning.

That perspective played out in the total results tallied and shared during the nightly tour meeting. Illinois corn averaged 196.19 bushels per acre, down 2.24% from last year but up 1.72% from the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Ninth and final stop 4 miles North of Roseville, IL. Population was very good at 34,000. The yield is 213. Kernel depth is just under a 1/2 inch. Some disease was showing up here including tar spot! Soybeans had 1778 pods in 3X3 area. #oatt #pftour25 pic.twitter.com/xAcDSxJL0q
— Darren Frye (@Frye_WSS) August 20, 2025

USDA-NASS estimates released August 12 project the Illinois corn crop will come in averaging 221 bu. per acre for the state, up 4 bushels over 2024.

That’s outside what Guse’s expectations are for the state.

“As you’re driving along the road, you can see ears that are already tipped over. I just don’t see it reaching [USDA’s projection],” he says.

Lane Akre, Pro Farmer economist and host for the eastern leg of the tour, agrees with Guse. He reports pulling several samples of corn that exceeded 200-bu. per acre as well as one that only hit 143 bushels.

“The Illinois crop just wasn’t what we’d hoped,” Akre says. “USDA is anticipating a 1.7% jump from a year ago, and we’re actually down 2.2%.”

Akre’s leg of the tour went through three Illinois counties that are typically heavy hitters for corn yields: Bureau County, Henry County and Rock Island County.

“There’s really good dirt through that area, and the farmers there are very good at actively managing their crops and what they do with fertilizer, herbicide and fungicide,” Akre notes. “We saw some poor emergence and that might’ve weighed on the samples we took.”

Soybeans Could Be the Star of the Season
Soybeans offered a better yield picture for Illinois farmers than the corn crop, Akre notes.

“We didn’t have a single sample in the state that was south of 1,300 pods in a 3’x3' square. We saw a lot of pods and a lot of potential out there,” he says.

The average counts Illinois scouts recorded was even higher than what Akre found, with an average of 1,479.22 pods in a 3’x3' square area. That is up 4.24% versus 2024 and up 12.65% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

Iowa soybean results across the three districts were equally impressive.

“This year’s crop is better than last year by far,” Greg Lehenbauer, Pro Farmer crop scout, told AgDay’s Michelle Rook. “They’ve had adequate rain across this part of Iowa almost all summer long.”

#pftour25 Day 3. Stop 2 Plymouth Co. IA. #Soybean pod count 816. @AgDayTV @FarmJournal @USFarmReport pic.twitter.com/GgmulwJ8UI
— Michelle Rook (@michellerookag) August 20, 2025

Carolan’s data confirmed the excellent soybeans that crop scouts found on Wednesday in all three districts:

*District 1 soybeans: 1,279.25 pods, up 15.38% versus 2024 and up 15.05% versus the three-year average.

*District 4 soybeans: 1,376.15 pods, up 9.73% versus 2024 and up 13.63% versus the three-year average.

*District 7 soybeans: 1,562.54 pods, up 14.37% versus 2024, and up 24.66% versus the three-year average.

(ProFarmer)

While Flory is cautiously optimistic about the Iowa soybean crop, he says stem rot and sudden death syndrome is taking root in more fields and threatening yield outcomes.

“Some of the routes through southern and west-central Iowa have seen a tremendous amount of disease issue on the soybeans, so I’ve got a feeling it’s going to look a lot different in a week than what it does right now,” he predicts. “Now, if it was September 10, that’d be one thing. But it’s August 20, and there’s still time for those bean diseases to take some yield away.”

Flory’s sentiment about what fields revealed in Iowa was shared by scout Brent Judisch.

“What it’s going to come down to here in the corn and the beans is, does the crop mature faster than the disease moves, or will disease outpace the crop?” Judisch says. “We won’t know for sure for another two or three weeks.”

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 3 Results from Illinois and Iowa

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 2 Results from Indiana and Nebraska

Watch On-Demand: Pro Farmer Crop Tour Day 1 Results from Ohio and South Dakota

About the Pro Farmer Crop Tour
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour is taking place Aug. 18-21, 2025. Simultaneously, the tour follows an eastern and western route, with the two culminating in Rochester, Minn. Nightly meetings in each location review daily results, scouting observations and historical comparison data. Attend nightly meetings in person or watch the nightly broadcast online at AgWeb.com/croptour .

How Much Lower Could Corn Prices Fall With a 185 or Higher National Corn Yield?

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 16:05:48 GMT

The corn market posted a bearish lower monthly close for July trying to determine just how big the U.S. corn crop is.

Private firms have raised their estimates on historically high crop ratings and generally non-threatening weather, but so far have discounted production problems.

StoneX released their newest national average corn yield estimate at 188.1 bushels per acre, a new record and 7 bushels over trend line.

How Big is The National Corn Yield?

The key to how low corn prices could fall is dependent on just how much above the 181 bushel trend line yield USDA pegs national corn yields in the Aug. 12 WASDE.

Mark Schultz, chief analyst, Northstar Commodity says, “USDA is going to do it all by satellite imagery, they’re gonna do it by crop ratings in their formula, so no boots on the ground. But when you look at it from that standpoint, obviously what they’re gonna see is an awfully good looking corn crop. So my guess is you’re gonna go on up. The question gets to be, do they bump it immediately up to 184, 185, something like that?”

Corn Market Ignoring Pollination and Disease Issues

Pollination problems from tight tassel wrap and disease issues could trim yields, but so far the market is discounting it.

Jim McCormick, Co-owner, AgMarket.Net says, “i think if there’s a real issue out there Michelle, we’re really not going to know until the fall harvest and the we actually get into the field. So the market right now, I think it’s kind of downplaying it. It’s very hard for them to quantify it right now.”

How Low will Corn Prices Fall With a 185 Yield?

A mid-180 corn yield could push production above 16 billion bushels and ending stocks above 2 billion. So, could that push December corn below last year’s $3.85 low?

McCormick says it’s very likely. “If this crop would push Michelle up to 185 plus, some people say higher than that, that would push your carryout potentially over 2 billion bushels and what that does is put your stocks used closer to 14 -15%. 3:51 Historically, that could argue corn as low as $3.50.”

Farmers Have Priced Only 5% of New Crop Corn

Adding insult to injury, McCormick says very little new crop corn has been priced.

“Roughly 5% of this crop is sold, we estimate, which means you got about 15 billion bushels of unpriced corn and that is gonna probably be a drag on the market as we get into harvest.”

Farmers Still Have 2024 Corn to Sell

Plus, farmers have 2024 corn yet to sell according to Schultz.

“I would say we probably have some of this old crop corn still sitting in the farmer’s hands that was off July basis and because when the July board went off or corn went off the board, they rolled it over into September and we’d go down and typically, and this is what we did last year, you put the low in right around August 28th.” he adds.

So that trend could repeat itself this year especially since the corn market seasonally drifts lower in August as well.

Insights From Seed Companies on Tackling Tassel Wrap Challenges

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 15:47:14 GMT

Probably no crop has been scouted better through pollination than in 2025 says Austin Schleich, a technical agronomist with Channel. Across his geography in western Iowa, Schleich says the phenomenon of “overly tight tassel wrap” has agronomists, farmers and scouts walking the rows, looking up, and evaluating from stalk to tassel.

“In the last two weeks, it’s really blown up and had a lot of questions about it [overly tight tassel wrap,]” he says. “Myself alongside the Channel seed professionals I work with are out in the fields, monitoring our pollination pretty intensely. We are extremely happy with our pollination progress so far. However, we have seen the tight tassel wrap in other products within the geography outside the Channel lineup.”

Overly tight tassel wrap has been reported by farmers and agronomists from Ohio to Nebraska and Missouri to Minnesota. Matt Montgomery from Beck’s Hybrids says this agronomic issue “does not, at the moment, appear to be at epidemic levels but at elevated levels.” The agronomic issue is attributed to many factors including environment, genetics and rapid growth stages.

Regarding this year’s growing season, Corteva provided this statement: “The weather conditions we have seen this year have really been an anomaly – in some areas we’ve seen as much as double the normal rainfall with sustained, higher-than-normal temperatures. These same conditions can lead to the presence of disease-causing pathogens. Our field teams and agronomists are working with customers to proactively monitor and manage the potential for disease development and treatment.”

Identify The Issue

Montgomery and the team at Beck’s are encouraging farmers to make two scouting passes this year.

“We are telling farmers to conduct at least two scouting tours where they find tassel wrap,” Montgomery says. “If they detect the issue and do some preliminary scouting, they should follow that visit with a second visit a few to several days later. In many (but not all) cases, we have found that the wrapped portion of the tassel eventually does emerge.”

“The best thing we can do this year is get out in your fields and scout and evaluate your pollination,” says Lance Tarochione, agronomist with Dekalb in Western Illinois. “If the tassel was wrapped up a month ago, you weren’t really going to know that if you weren’t there at the right time to see it because the tassel gets unwrapped eventually.”

He provides this scouting guide:

Do you see long silks?
Do you see clipped silks, for example from insects?
Do you see strange pollination patterns on the ear?
Do you see kernels on the ear that are in vastly different stages–most of the kernels on the ear are at the same stage, but if you’re having pollination problems and the pollination window gets strung out longer, you might have kernels of different sizes on an ear
Did the tip fill?
Did the butt fill?
Does the tassel look normal, small, have only one spike and no branches?

“We’ve observed that tassels with a big flag leaf are more likely to wrap,” he says. “And perhaps tassels with a hybrid with a tassel with a single spike and no branches might be more prone to tassel wrap. Hybrids that don’t exert the tassel well up above the leaves in the corn plant might be more prone to tassel wrap. There’s a lot of hybrids that have a very upright leaf structure.”

What to look for is one aspect, and equally as important is how to scout for pollination issues.

Brian Weihmeir, sales agronomist with AgriGold in central Illinois says, “Do scouting in the right way. We don’t want to go out and shuck back one ear and think you have a problem. Take multiple samples. Look at multiple hybrids. Multiple planting dates. Make sure we get a handle on what we are seeing.”

Weihmeir says his geography across central Illinois has not seen an overabundance of tassel wrap.

In western Iowa, Schleich says he’s seen a field where a majority of the plants were exhibiting tight tassel wrap—tassels gripped by the flag leaf to where pollen will not shed to reach silks below.

Is it Genetics or Environment?

Tarochione says opinions vary widely as to what is causing overly tight tassel wrap. But he believes undoubtedly it’s a function of genetics and environment and he strongly affirms there are more pollination issues in 2025 than just tight tassel wrap.

“Obviously, it’s ‘G by E.’ We talk a lot about how genetics and environment interact in all things agronomy. This is no different. But I don’t know that I feel confident we have a good handle on if there are specific environmental conditions that are causing it,” Tarochione says.

Genetics

Weihmeir points to plant characteristics exhibited by hybrids—pointing to hybrids with more inline tassels—less branching.

“It’s a more condensed tassel structure,” he says. “We have hybrids with condensed tassel types, but I haven’t seen tight tassel wrap in our portfolio widespread.”

In western Iowa, Schleich has observed the most consistent observation for tight tassel wrap has been in hybrids with tassels having a single branch.

Planting Dates

Schleich says he’s seen the tassel wrap phenomenon across a wide variety of planting dates–from April 15 to May 7.

Tarochione adds, “I don’t think that there is a specific planting window. It’s been observed in many states as pollination has progressed northward in the corn belt. I do not think it is restricted to a particular planting date window. I’ve seen May planted corn doing it. I’ve seen early April planted corn doing it. To me the planting window is the 2025 growing season.”

Other Pollination Issues

While tight tassel wrap brings a novelty interest in pollination issues, there are many other agronomic concerns during this important time in the corn crop.

“The tassel wrap phenomenon itself is a little bit unique based on my experience, but there’s other things that are causing pollination issues that are not unique,” Tarochione says. “In some cases a little bit too much attention is being paid to tassel wrap when there’s other things that can cause pollination issues.”

He points to timing issues such as when hybrids miss the nick, and silks aren’t adequately pollinated. Additionally, he reports many fields with smaller than average tassels and tassel development issues.

“Tassel development happens at about V6 in a corn plant. So we’re talking a long, long time ago that the tassel was formed in the corn plant long before you could see it. I see lots of very small tassels. I see lots of tassels with no branches. I see tassels with skeletonized branches. I see tassels that are probably producing less pollen than a normal healthy tassel would. So I think that can be playing into the pollination issues as well.” He says.

Schleich agrees says timing is paramount for successful pollination—from the emergence of silks, the length of silks and the spread of pollen once it sheds. In his geography—but not necessarily within Channel hybrids—he’s seen elongated silks which also cause pollination issues.

“If you are seeing pollination issues now, go back in a couple of weeks and evaluate pollination success with overall ear development to see how any of these problems contribute to overall yields,” he says.

What could tight tassel wrap mean for yield?

Tarochione says you can have tight tassel wrap and acceptable pollination.

“You can have tassel wrap and have acceptable pollination in a field with tassel wrap. And you can have poor pollination in fields that aren’t struggling with tassel wrap,” he says. “So it’s more complex than just does it have tassel wrap or not when it comes to pollination. Because if you’ve got two hybrids in a field like in a split planter scenario where you had hybrid A on the left side hybrid B on the right side of the planter. It might pollinate just fine, even with a wrap tassel, because the other hybrid will pollinate it.”

What does this mean for next year?

Clayton Robinson, Channel Corn Brand Portfolio Lead says, “ultimately, our breeding organization is very aware of that this issue [tight tassel wrap] is going on in the industry, and we are probably looking at this with a finer tooth comb moving forward. We’re really happy with how Channel corn products have pollinated in the field this year, but it’s always a good reminder to continue to be vigilant, to look for potential genetic issues that can present themselves when the environment is right.”

And for next year’s seed selection, AgriGold’s Weihmeir says this agronomic phenomenon highlights the need for genetic diversity across the corn hybrids planted.

“Every year is different. With our research, it’s important to have genetic diversity to mitigate risk and maximize yield,” Weihmeir says.

Farm Journal reached out to all major corn seed companies who supply the Corn Belt. Some did not respond. Stine Seed and Wyffels Hybrids said their agronomists are not seeing the tight tassel wrap in their portfolio and therefore chose not to comment further.

What's Really Causing the Tight Tassel Wrap Pollination Problems This Year?

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 12:39:48 GMT

The view of the corn crop from the road this year looks good. Fields have lush green corn plants and even stands, which is why farmers had high hopes for bin-busting yields.

But as farmers wade into their fields and pull back the husks, some are finding an unpleasant surprise: an issue with overly tight wrapped tassels .

“It’s a very unique phenomenon we’re dealing with, and a lot of these issues have come from tassel wrapping,” says Dan Quinn, Extension corn specialist for Purdue University.

"Tassel wrap" showing up in WC Indiana (photos taken July 10), joining the party seen across much of the Midwest. Seems linked to hybrid, planting date, and pre-symptom temp swings. Potential pollination issues also observed ~10 days after symptoms.@PurdueAgronomy @PurdueAg pic.twitter.com/qVKDr7m1Th
— Dan Quinn (@PurdueCorn) July 21, 2025

Quinn started seeing the pollination problem in some of his own fields, and once he took a closer, he says it was quick to diagnose if you caught the field at the right time.

“It’s just a function of these tassels being almost stuck in the upper leaves,” he explains. “We’re seeing those upper leaves tightly wrap around the tassel, and in many cases it’s delaying the tassel emergence.”

He says that delay from the overly tight tassels is throwing off the synchronization of pollination at a critical time, and now it’s showing up in the form of poorly pollinated ears.

“The big thing with corn is we talk about the synchrony between pollen drop and the silk emergence,” Quinn says. “[Pollination] a very fairly short window in corn. Anything that throws out that timing can cause issues with pollination.”

What’s catching so many farmers by surprise is the fact crop conditions look phenomenal across many areas of the country this year thanks to good planting conditions and timely rains. In fact, USDA’s latest Crop Progress report shows nearly three-quarters of the nation’s corn crop is rated in good to excellent condition.

“You have to get in there and peel back the husks,” Quinn says. “You have to take a look at kernel development. Another thing we often look at is when silks, or the ovules on the kernel, are fertilized. When that occurs, the silks will detach. If you carefully pull back the husk, you have to be careful, and you can actually shake the ear to see which silks fall off or which ones actually stay attached.”

Pollination Problems in Iowa

Mark Licht, an Extension cropping systems specialist at Iowa State University, first started seeing corn pollination issues in early July .

“Some of those first tasseling fields were where this really started to show up,” Licht says. “I think that’s attributed to some of the characteristics around what’s causing it, and it kept going until probably about a week ago is when we kind of stopped seeing it in the field. But then, of course, farmers that had noticed the pollination issues, and that’s when, they were still getting agronomists, myself and others out to look at their fields.”

Tightly wrapped tassels in SW IN—seems to be hybrid specific. Planter was split in each field—The other hybrid and refuge shot normal tassels. pic.twitter.com/xyJFqaG4Oy
— Hillari Mason (@HillariMason) July 21, 2025

He says the tight tassel wrap usually lasts around three to five days and is noticeable in fields during that time. But it’s a short window that growers can see the tassel tight tassel wrap in their fields. And when it grows out of it, and the tassel blossoms out like normal.

That means if farmers didn’t notice the tight tassel in that short three to five day window, they might not even know pollination problems exist in their field until they actually walk into the field and check ears to see how the corn pollinated.

“If it unwrapped quickly, we might only see a dozen or two dozen kernels that were not pollinating,” Licht says. “Some of them that stayed wrapped up a little bit tighter, longer, we might see 25% to a third of that ear didn’t pollinate well.”

What’s the Worst-Case Scenario in Iowa?

For Licht, he has seen fields where eight out of 10 ears had issues.

“One of the fields that I was in, it was about 80% of the ears, and it was probably in that 25% of the ear with poor pollination,” he says. “So, this pollination issues [from tight tassel wrap] could be somewhat significant. That’s a worst-case scenario. Most of this is on the fields with pollination issues that I’ve seen are on the lighter side of things where it may only be a dozen kernels or so impacted on an ear, and it might only be 20% of ears impacted.”

At Least 10 States Are Reporting Pollination Problems From Overly Tight Wrapped Tassels

Licht says the problem is widespread, but in Iowa, it appears to be primarily isolated to the central and southeast portions of the state. He’s also heard reports of tight tassel wrap impacting pollination in Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Tennessee, Illinois and Indiana.

Add those seven states with reports of the problem in Missouri, Kansas and Ohio, and the total grows to 10 states seeing pollination issues this year.

What’s Really Causing the Tight Tassel Wrap Pollination Problems This Year?

Plants experience tight tassel wrap each year, according to Licht, but he says the crop typically grows out of it before pollination. This year, the leaves stayed tightly wrapped around the tassel as the plant started to pollinate, which is where the issues occurred.

“I think we do see these plants wrap up each year. Typically it’s more in the mid-vegetative time period, so eighth leaf stage up to 13 or 14 leaf stage,” he says. “This is really rare when it’s wrapping around the tassel as the tassel is starting to shed pollen. I’ve been an agronomist for 20 plus years, and I think this is only the second time I’ve seen it.”

Record overnight temperatures.

(Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien )

Both Licht and Quinn attribute this rare occurrence of tight tassel wrap during pollination to key environmental issues, including a lot of soil moisture and a sudden switch to high temperatures. The near-record overnight temperatures are also thought to have aided the problem. It was a “perfect storm” for issues to exist, and the hybrids impacted may have been more susceptible to rapid growth syndrome this spring.

“We had rapid growth at the end of that vegetative development,” explains Licht.

Can Bad Genetics or Poor Breeding Also Be to Blame?

Farmers are looking for someone, or something, to blame. After all, they have a lot riding on this year’s crop. And considering the issue is occurring across a wide geography of the Corn Belt, some critics are questioning if the issue is all weather or environmental related.

So that begs the following questions: Is it bad genetics? Is it poor breeding, or any one thing to pinpoint as the cause? Those are the questions we asked Licht.

“I don’t think so,” Licht says. “Yes, it is hybrid specific, and it’s happening across all brands, but some of the hybrids I’m hearing about were planted last year and the year before, but the problem didn’t show up. I think it’s really a combination of the hybrid and the environment coming together perfectly, and it’s more prolific this year.”

Kind of depressing pic.twitter.com/Mgf8dJd5dz
— Lance Schiele (@schiele_lance) July 22, 2025

The Issue Is Happening Across Several Seed Brands

Similar to Licht’s assessment, Quinn says it seems to be an issue across seed brands .

“I think this issue has been the biggest surprise because the areas where we see significant tassel wrap and the pollination issues are areas you would not expect to have any issues,” Quinn says. “The fields I’ve walked are some of the best corn fields in the state. Iowa has a lot of issues with [tight tassel wrap], but they have outstanding crop conditions in that state.”

Add ND to the list of states with wrapped tassels pic.twitter.com/VyeQ41og6s
— Blase Hendrickson (@hendricksonfarm) July 23, 2025

Quinn says from the fields he’s scouted, the issue is specific to a late April or first week of May planting date.

“A lot of that corn was reaching pollination in the past couple of weeks,” Quinn says. “If you look at our planting progress, on May 5, we had about 25% of the corn acres planted in Indiana. Based on that number, I would say maybe 10% to 20% of the acres can potentially be impacted in Indiana.”

He says best-case scenario is the tight wrapped tassel caused no pollination issues. Worst case, from what he’s seen, is 20% to 30% of a field is impacted by pollination issues.
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Watch the full discussion with Purdue’s Dan Quinn exclusively on Farm Journal TV .
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Quinn says that’s what makes it so hard to quantify the impact of pollination problems on the size of this year’s crop.

“We still need a lot more time to assess these fields, walk these fields, pull ears and take a look at pollination to get a better handle on the magnitude of it, Quinn says.

Why Isn’t the Corn Market Taking Note?

At the beginning of July, market analysts and traders were continuing to ramp up yield forecasts, which sprouted from the fact crop conditions are so strong, and moisture from the Gulf continued to pump rainfall across the Midwest. Some yield forecasts were as high as 189 bu. per acre, which would be well above the 181 bu. per acre national yield forecast currently projected by USDA.

With no way of knowing the scope or severity of the pollination problems, market analysts say the U.S. corn crop is still shaping up to be good. The pollination problems could trim a few bushels off the extremely high national yield forecasts being thrown around.

“From our vantage point, yes, it does help temper some of the 185, 186, 187 yield forecasts?” says Jim Emter, CEO of Van Ahn and Company. “We’re more in that tune right now of a 179 to 184 [bu. per acre national yield forecast]. It feels like we’re in a race to print the biggest one right now by a lot of people.”

Still, farmers are frustrated. They see the social media posts about pollination problems, and then some walk their own fields, only to find pollination issues firsthand. They’re frustrated the corn market isn’t reacting to what could be an unexpected production problem this year.

AgTraderTalk’s Garrett Toay was on “U.S. Farm Report” this week and was asked why the issue isn’t moving the markets yet.

“Nobody knows,” Toay says. “I’ve talked to industry contacts; I think it’s a fairly widespread issue. It’s not brand specific as we originally thought early on, and what I’m being told is the corn plant grew too quickly in some areas. It works itself out in some areas, but I think the problem of the market is it’s not too concerned about it or not paying attention to it because we don’t know how widespread it is. We don’t know if it will even have an impact on the actual yield. But it’s one of those things we’ll trade when we get there sort of thing.”

Puzzling Problem

It’s a puzzling problem, especially in fields where planting got off to a strong start, and from farmers to agronomists, it’s catching everyone by surprise.

“That’s been the biggest surprise is that we can still have issues even when things look really good out there,” Quinn says.

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Watch the full discussion with Iowa State’s Mark Licht exclusively on Farm Journal TV.

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Near Ideal Growing Conditions?

There’s no secret that pollination problems are an issue in corn this year. However, critics question how weather is playing a factor when the U.S. has experienced near ideal growing conditions this year.

Nutrien’s Eric Snodgrass says moisture has been almost ideal, but the overnight temperatures mgith be playing a factor into the issues farmers are seeing. Watch his discussion, along with the rainfall forecast for the next few weeks.

Take Our Poll: What Problems Are Showing Up In Your Corn Fields?

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 17:32:30 GMT

‘Tis the time of year to be scouting for various diseases and pests and assessing how your corn crop is coming along. In addition to keeping a watchful eye for southern rust and tar spot, some farmers and agronomists have been surprised to find pollination issues. “ Overly tight tassel wrap ” went largely unnoticed until a couple weeks ago.

“It’s a situation where the tassels on some varieties, based on the growing conditions, were wrapped too tight. The pollen couldn’t get out of the wrap, which led to a poor start for the pollination cycle,” explains Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.

Farmers and agronomists have reported pollination issues due to tight tassel wrap in at least 10 states. Only time will tell how widespread the unusual problem impacted yields.

In addition to pollination problems, southern rust has now been confirmed in at least 15 states. With the recent heat, humidity and strong winds, agronomists are encouraging farmers to scout their corn fields, as conditions are ripe for the disease to spread.

Since late June, Ferrie has been closely monitoring tar spot reports in Illinois and working with growers to create and implement action plans for their specific fields to address the disease.

That’s why we want to hear from you. How is your corn crop faring? Click here to take our AgWeb poll , and let us know if you’re seeing pollination issues due to tight tassel wrap and/or if you’ve confirmed southern rust or tar spot this year. We only ask four questions, so it will take less than a minute to participate.

David Hula Shares Risk Management Strategy to Address Corn Pollination Challenges

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 04:22:53 GMT

As corn growers are evaluating pollination, more reports of problems resulting from the “overly tight tassel wrap” phenomenon are trickling in from farmers and agronomists, with pictures and commentary now posted to social media and various websites.

Reigning world corn yield record holder David Hula says he is seeing the issue in some Virginia fields and also hearing reports on the problem from fellow corn growers in states along the Eastern Seaboard.

“Some farmers have been walking fields thinking they’re getting plenty of rain and are going to knock it out of the yield park with this crop, but we’ve got pollination problems,” reports Hula, who’s based near Charles City, Va. “I walked a bunch of fields this past weekend to make sure I still want the plane (to fly inputs) on certain fields.” he adds.

“This isn’t happening just in Virginia, I know it’s happening in the mid-Atlantic… in Delaware and Maryland and the Carolinas. I don’t know how far West this goes…” he told Randy Dowdy on their new episode of Breaking Barriers with R&D podcast.

"Tassel wrap" showing up in WC Indiana (photos taken July 10), joining the party seen across much of the Midwest. Seems linked to hybrid, planting date, and pre-symptom temp swings. Potential pollination issues also observed ~10 days after symptoms.@PurdueAgronomy @PurdueAg pic.twitter.com/qVKDr7m1Th
— Dan Quinn (@PurdueCorn) July 21, 2025

The Culmination Of A Perfect Storm?
At this point, no one has a clear handle on how extensive the pollination problem is across the Corn Belt.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie says he is seeing the issue occur in parts of Illinois as corn reaches about V6 or V7 up through tassel – as the crop goes through rapid growth.

“This corn is growing like crazy, putting on an inch and a half of root a day, putting on a node every three days, that type of thing. The tassel can get wrapped really tight, and usually it’s triggered by some type of stress. Your hope is that that tassel gets out of the tight wrap before pollination starts, and usually it does. But this year, we have some hybrids that are really struggling to get that done. Unfortunately, the tassels are still wrapped tight, and the silks are out and they’re waiting for that pollen.”

Mark Licht, Extension cropping systems specialist at Iowa State University, reports tassels shedding pollen while still wrapped in the flag leaf is an uncommon occurrence in Iowa and across the Corn Belt and that he has only seen it once in the past 20 or so years.

In an online article , Licht says the problem does not seem to be brand-specific but does appear to be hybrid-specific.

“We believe this may be a form of rapid growth syndrome occurring at the end of the vegetative stages, likely triggered by a combination of high temperatures, ample moisture and non-limiting nutrient availability,” he writes.

BREAKING: There are concerns about pollination issues in cornfields, particularly in the Midwest. Tassels are not emerging normally, and silks are abnormally long, potentially impacting yield. The cause is unknown, but it may be genetically related and could result in reduced… pic.twitter.com/uchasksbfb
— Cornelius Seed (@PlantItProfit) July 17, 2025

Ferrie says he has seen the issue in previous years and thinks it might be influenced partly by wide swings in temperature during a 24-hour period. “You’re up in that 85- to 90-degree range during the day, and then you crash into the 50s at night. That seems to trigger this.”

Licht is trying to get an idea of how widespread the problem is in corn. Farmers in Iowa and across the country can help him gain insights on this issue by completing his wrapped tassel questionnaire .

🌽#CropWatch25 #corn has either pollinated or is doing so now. Only potential issues reported are out of western Iowa, where the top leaf and the tassel are intertwined. Pollination impacts are unclear for now. Otherwise, corn looks good, plenty of moisture for most fields. pic.twitter.com/5a4wgyGwzL
— Karen Braun (@kannbwx) July 21, 2025

Address Silk Clippers In Compromised Corn Crops
Unfortunately, there is no counter measure farmers can take to correct or improve poor pollination.

One step Ferrie encourages impacted growers to take is to look for feeding from silk clipping pests. Japanese beetle and corn rootworm beetle species are two of the key pests he is seeing in fields feeding on silks now.

“When you’re under this much pressure to get corn pollinated, if you’ve got any beetle silk clipping going on on top of this problem, you may have to go in there and do a preemptive strike,” Ferrie says. “Clean up your silk clippers if they’re there. Aphids can be part of the problem, as well.”

Ferrie offers more insights from his perspective on what is contributing to the problem in his discussion with Farm Journal’s Tyne Morgan and Clinton Griffiths in their latest podcast.

A Good Way To Minimize Risk Next Season
Hula believes in minimizing production risks with strategic use of his corn planter, and he encourages other growers to do the same. His objective: plant hybrids with similar Comparative Relative Maturities (CRMs) – also sometimes referred to as Relative Maturity or RM – but with different flowering dates.

This is information he can usually access via seed company product catalogs or a company representative.

“Between companies, some of their CRM models or numbers are a little different, so you have to take that into account,” Hula says.

Assessing Growing Degree Units (GDUs) in the flowering process also plays a role in Hula’s hybrid selection methods.

“If I’m using the same genetic package from the same company, we’ll look for a six-day range of pollination,” he notes. “And if I’m changing companies, then we just try to find when they’re silking and come up with their best strategy. I want similar CRMs, but I’ll go with as much as two CRM differences.”

Hula usually splits his 16-row planter with two hybrids – eight rows of one hybrid and eight rows of a second hybrid – to go across the field. This year, he used three hybrids at a time in the planter.

“That helps spread out the risk, as we find some maturities are having pollination problems and others aren’t,” Hula says.
Ferrie explains that if the grower uses at least two different hybrids in the planter and the hybrids sync up at silking, growers are able to mitigate risk, “because the one hybrid pollinated the other one for you,” he says.

Hula goes into more detail on how he uses hybrid selection to mitigate production risks in Breaking Barriers With R&D. Watch it on YouTube: Breaking Barriers with R&D: Split the Planter, Split the Risk

Tight Tassel Wrap Is Affecting Pollination In Corn Across 4 States

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 22:19:34 GMT

Pollination is always a critical point in corn development, and this year is no different. One development hiccup some agronomists and farmers are finding now is what Ken Ferrie describes as an overly tight tassel wrap that is impacting pollination in specific genetics.

“It’s a situation where the tassels on some of these varieties, based on the growing conditions, were wrapped too tight. The pollen couldn’t get out of the wrap, which led to a poor start of the pollination cycle,” explains Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

The problem went unnoticed by most corn growers until this week. Ferrie says farmers have been calling him the past couple of days and nights, as they’ve checked crops for pollination and found poor results.

“There’s kind of a panic when they find out they got moderate to poor pollination on some of their best genetics out there,” Ferrie said on Tuesday during a discussion on AgriTalk with host Chip Flory.

Unfortunately, there is no management practice or product that can correct poor pollination.

“The only thing we can do now, other than adjust our marketing strategies, is to think through whether we’re going to double-spray fungicide or not on a crop that’s been dinged,” Ferrie says.

Environmental Factors At Play

Fields that showed rapid growth syndrome with scattered yellow plants in early June should be watched carefully, advises Matt Duesterhaus, Crop-Tech Consulting research agronomist.

“We believe the conditions that resulted in the rapid growth in May and into June also played a role in this wrapped tassel issue at pollination,” he says.

“What we’re finding is silks that emerge a week before any pollen makes it down,” Duesterhaus adds. “As the silks continue to grow longer, the ones on the underneath side get shielded, resulting in patches of unpollinated kernels at the base or along one side of the ear.”

In Illinois, the affected hybrids Ferrie has evaluated were planted during a brief window of about April 14 through April 17 and then encountered some environmental stress – such as too much heat – during the onset of early, rapid growth.

“It’s some of our big-hitter hybrids that are affected,” Ferrie says, noting he has seen the problem in 200- and 300-acre fields in central Illinois where farmers likely planted a single hybrid.

However, in many cases, those same genetics planted the week after April 17 seem to have gone through the pollination process just fine.

“Also, if the farmer had a split planter, and the hybrids synced up in silking, farmers were able to mitigate some of the risk, because the one hybrid pollinated the other one for you,” he says.

(X, formerly Twitter)

Farmers In Multiple States Affected

Ferrie says he is getting reports from farmers across Illinois, plus from some in Missouri and Iowa, who are finding the issue in their fields.

“It is a wider-based problem than just in McLean County, Ill., right now,” he says.

Iowa State University Field Agronomist Meghan Anderson says she has encountered the problem on a limited basis in Iowa and from one farmer in Indiana. Most of the corn in her area, central Iowa, is currently on the back end of R1 (silking).

“My impression is the affected hybrids are still producing pollen, which will hopefully shake loose and be able to pollinate the plants,” she says. “My expectation is that it will not have a big effect on corn pollination here. I can’t say that with certainty, but that’s my expectation based on knowing how corn pollinates.”

Steps Farmers Can Take Now

Ferrie is advising growers to be proactive in checking their corn for pollination, so they can decide how they want to invest in their crop during the second half of the season.

“We’re telling guys to pick 10 ears in a row and do that randomly throughout the field. Then strip the ears down, lay them on your tailgate, and try to estimate how many kernels didn’t make it,” he says.

“For simple math, let’s say that once you get done doing your numbers that roughly 20% of the kernels didn’t make it. In that scenario, you probably gave up 15% of the yield.”

In affected fields, Ferrie says he has seen potential yield losses that he anticipates will range from 15% to 40% at harvest.

“Some of these are going to bite as far as what the yield is at the end of the season,” he says.

Grain traders and agronomists are discussing pollination stress in eastern Illinois...

Over the past 14 days, Livingston & Iroquois counties in IL, two of the largest #corn producing counties in the US, have received only 43% and 48% of nrml rainfall.#oatt #agwx #AgWeather pic.twitter.com/OG3Mfaup89
— CropProphet (@CropProphet) July 15, 2025

The important step, he encourages, is for farmers to get out and check their fields for pollination so they can plan decisions for fungicide applications and whether they need to make any marketing adjustments.

“This is a tough break for some of our guys out here, but scouting can help them decide what to do next,” he adds.

Ferrie provides additional details on this issue and how to evaluate your hybrids for pollination success in his discussion with Chip Flory on AgriTalk. This is an excellent, informative discussion you don’t want to miss. Give it a listen here:

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