The August Illusion
- fender2509
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Don’t Coast Now
August is lying to you.
The sun shifts a little lower, the fairgrounds are buzzing, and schools start football practice. It feels like the season’s winding down. But out in the field? The crop is just entering possibly the most expensive, most critical stage of its life.
We’ve all been there: standing on the edge of a cornfield in August, thinking, “It’s pretty much done now.” That’s the August Illusion- and if you fall for it, you may lose yield, plant health, ROI, and other opportunities you can’t get back in October.
The Vanishing Act
Why do so many growers vanish in August?
They stop scouting. They stop calling their agronomist. They stop looking for insects, disease, nutrient gaps. I hear the same thing:
“I’ve already spent enough this year.”
That’s like saying, “I’ve already fed the calf- no need to water it.”
You don’t need to break the bank in August. But you can’t afford to ignore it either. Your crop is doing 24-hour grainfill sprints right now. A little leaf disease, late feeding, or unchecked armyworm can quietly wreck everything you did right in May and June.
I Took a Walk – Too Late
A few years ago, I had a corn field I hadn’t scouted in about 2 months. I knew better – for some reason I just let it slide.
When I finally made the trip, the corn was shoulder-high. So were the weeds. Giant ragweed blasted past the canopy, and the Waterhemp was so thick I couldn’t see the ground. At that point, it wasn’t just a cornfield – it was a warning sign. I still think about that field. The corn looked really good, but I knew I had let a disaster happen. Point is, as farmers and agronomists, we need to protect our investments and continually check up on the things that provide for our families. Nobody needs to go through this.
Drone Tech Meets Grainfill Timing
Late-season scouting is more important than ever. Tar spot, gray leaf spot, anthracnose, cutworms, and armyworms are all peaking in August- and they don’t wait for you to notice. If you’re not in your fields, the pests are silently chewing into your bottom line.
This is prime time for fungicide and insecticide applications, but ground rigs aren’t always practical, and aerial sprayers can be backed up or limited by weather.
That’s where drone application technology is making a real difference. Precision drones can deliver fungicides, insecticides, micro’s, and bio’s right when the crop needs them with zero damage done to the crop or the ground. Whether you’re protecting leaf tissue, controlling insects, or making one final nutritional pass, this tech gives you timing flexibility hat ground rigs can’t.
And if you’re considering a foliar program- this is your last effective window. Products like MultiGro™ or Ample ZSB™ can help with staygreen, kernal development, and test weight through the final stages of grainfill.
Often, we let the calendar make decisions for us, don’t let it. August is a race to the finish, and precision tools are changing how we run it.
Finish Strong
Your crop’s not done until the combine rolls. And truthfully, not even then- because how it finishes will shape how you plan and budget for next season. Want to separate yourself? Be the one who scouts in August.
Contact your Pacer representative today!
Kale Meendering
507-766-4123
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