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Scouting for crop disease in eastern Iowa

Eastern Iowa farmer Dave Walton says he’s keeping a close eye on disease pressure this growing season.

“I’m hearing a little bit of talk about tar spot, and I’ve been out looking for it. It’s in some of the surrounding counties, but I haven’t found it here. That’s probably the primary concern right now.”

Walton says he manages gray leaf spot yearly.

He tells Brownfield he’s pleased with how his crops are looking. “We picked up this rain about a week ago where we got a two-inch rain we’ve definitely been needing and then we picked up a little bit more rain through the week here, maybe another inch total. The beans are a little behind where they ought to be, but they are catching up quick.”

Walton raises corn and soybeans near Wilton along the Mississippi River.