Strong winds and hail hit areas of Iowa late last week and earlier this week, causing damage to corn and soybean plants in some fields. The storms that moved across the state brought needed rainfall, but the winds and hail were a high price to pay for the hardest-hit fields. For farmers dealing with damaged crops, the first step should be to communicate with your crop insurance agent as soon as possible. Additionally, here are some resources that may be useful in evaluating the impact of the damage. This information is provided by Rebecca Vittetoe, Iowa State University Extension field agronomist for east-central and southeast Iowa: Hail damage to small grains For oats, wheat, rye, etc., the University of Wisconsin has a good resource for  evaluating hail damage. Hail damage to forages For farmers who have hail damage to forage crops like alfalfa or red clover, the University of Wisconsin agronomists explain how to  evaluate the damage. Fungicides for hail-damaged crops  A question ISU Extension field agronomists often receive from farmers when hail hits a field is whether to apply a fungicide as was already planned. “A common misconception is that hail-damaged crops will be at a higher risk for disease infection,” Vittetoe says. “Note that fungal diseases like gray leaf spot in corn or frogeye leaf spot in soybeans do not require wounding to infect the plant, whereas bacterial diseases will more commonly infect the plant through open wounds.” A University of Illinois article summarizes the research from various universities looking at the impact foliar fungicide application has on hail-damaged crops. See the Illinois Field Crop Disease Hub. Another good resource summarizing the research Iowa State has conducted looking at fungicide use on hail-damaged crops is the ICM Blog post  Fungicide Use on Hail Damaged Corn and Soybeans. Wind damage resources  Wind damage in corn varies from field to field, and it can be related to hybrid, corn growth stage and other environmental conditions. Wind damage may have caused leaning, root lodging, and greensnap or brittlesnap. “Like with evaluating hail damage, it’s best to wait a few days to fully evaluate how the plants are recovering,” Vittetoe says. “Corn plants that are leaning or have root lodging issues should stand back up within a few days after the wind event has occurred, if the plants are still in the vegetative stages of growth. However, after tasseling and silking, the ability to stand back up is diminished. Wind damage to corn can also result in poor pollination due to additional plant stress and silks being covered by leaves.” For greensnap or brittlesnap, if the plants snapped off above the ear or where the ear would eventually be located on the plant, the plants could potentially still produce an ear from either the primary or secondary ear node. “However, plants that are snapped off lower than this location clearly represent a direct loss of yield potential,” she notes. “It is typically assumed that for each percent of plants snapped off in a field, it is equal to that same percent in terms of yield loss. This rule of thumb is slightly aggressive since neighboring plants can compensate by producing slightly higher kernel weights.” Source - https://www.farmprogress.com