This summer has been both hot and wet, with consistent rainfall across much of the state. These conditions have led to some unusual challenges in cornfields, including wrapped tassels and southern rust. Both have raised questions about their potential impacts on corn silage.

Wrapped tassels

Wrapped tassels aren’t a common occurrence in Iowa or the Midwest. As noted by Mark Licht, Extension cropping systems specialist, in a recent ICM blog post, he has only observed this phenomenon once before in his more than 20-year career. Yet this year, wrapped tassels have been widely...