Average temperatures for the week ending Sept. 7 were above normal in Iowa, which aided crop development, according to the Sept. 8 Iowa Crop & Weather report.

"Crops continue to mature as we move towards harvest, with a few farmers starting to chop silage when the weather allows," said Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey. "Aerial seeding of cover crops is also taking place, as an increasing number of farmers are starting to use cover crops."

State Meteorologist Harry Hillaker said temperature extremes varied from afternoon highs of 94 degrees in Donnellson, Glenwood, Shenandoah and Sidney, down to one morning low of 40 degrees in Sheldon.

The report stated almost all of Iowa’s corn was in the dough stage or beyond, with 72 percent reaching the dent stage and 6 percent reaching maturity.

"Given that most of us got planted later than we typically do – and that we are a little behind on heat units – corn will likely need to stand a little longer than we’d like in order to reach maturity, and may not dry down as well as we’d like," said Clarke McGrath, Iowa State University extension field agronomist.

"We will want to really watch it as it matures. We are tempted to leave it out to field dry. (But) some areas may not have the stalk integrity that we need to safely field dry our corn."

With almost the entire soybean crop setting pods or beyond, the report stated 26 percent of leaves turned color. The third cutting of alfalfa hay was 64 percent complete, the report added.