All of west central Iowa is currently under a moderate to extreme drought. The drought conditions are causing major concerns for both crop and livestock producers. To compound this situation the Derecho weather event has caused significant damage to crops and infrastructure across the area. To help address those concerns, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will be hosting a Virtual Ag Coffee Meeting on September 9^th at 9:00 am. This event will be a live webinar presentation and have 11 in person viewing locations across West Central Iowa.

The meeting will be split into two segments with Mike Witt, ISU Field Agronomist, discussing the agronomic impacts of the drought and the Derecho. Specific agronomic topics that will be discussed are: harvesting downed corn strategies and expectations, managing fields that are unharvestable, ideas for residue and fall cover crop, grain quality and grain storage issues. Tim Christensen, ISU Farm Management Specialist, will be discussing the financial impacts and strategies for fall 2020. Specific farm management topics to be discussed are: crop insurance conversations, new USDA/FSA programs, considerations for handling drought and low yield crops with markets and handling farm stress. The meetings will last approximately 90 minutes.

The Virtual Farmers coffee will be a meeting that features both in person and virtual discussions. If you do not have internet access or would like to attend the meeting in person rather than home there are seats available at the 11 county extension offices. The speakers will be live via Zoom and able to answer question during and after the presentation. Each county office will be limited in their seating due to Covid-19 restrictions. Pre registration is required to attend the meetings in person and is on a first come, first serve basis. Walk-ins will not be accepted unless confirmed by individual county offices the day of the meeting. At home or virtual viewing of the meeting can be done by registering at the website www.aep.iastate.edu/coffee. This registration will provide you with a personal link to the meeting.