OTTUMWA — While some farmers know this won’t be a record year for crops, most are doing what they can to salvage the crops that remain.

“We are a little stressed. We’ve got corn that is showing yellowing in wet areas of the field. It is due to a very poor root system underneath, because of water-logged soils,” said Iowa State University Extension Southeast Iowa Field Specialist Mark Carlton.

“I don’t know if it is even going to be a decent crop. It depends on rest of year and how we handle it,” he said.

Carlton said thus far, most of the questions he’s addressed deal with possible nitrogen losses.

“The answer is probably yes. That is the primary nutrient of corn crops. Farmers should consider testing the soil for available nitrogen,” he recommended.

Carlton said area farmers should consider a side-dress, which is adding more nitrogen to the fields.

Wapello County farmer Steve McBeth said some of his neighbors are side-dressing their fields.

But, he didn’t have the need.

“We went from a fall application [of nitrogen] to a spring application,” McBeth said. “I think it helped somewhat, but with all the rain, I’m sure some of it got washed away.”

He said if they have the right weather conditions this summer, they can still have a good crop.

“It’s not going to be a blockbuster year, but it can still be decent,” McBeth said.

“We need some dry, humid weather, preferably some temperatures in the 80s or 90s and a cooler moist pollination period,” McBeth said. “Normally the pollination period is in mid-July, now it might be mid- to late August.”

He said his corn ranges in height from “pop can size” to 15 inches, compared to a year ago when it was “knee to hip high.”

Fellow Wapello County farmer Clark Yeager said his fields, like most in Iowa, are also uneven, with some knee-high corn, some bare spots and some areas that aren’t growing very tall at all.

At this point, McBeth said they are cultivating the ground and loosening up the soil so the soil has more air to breathe.