Iowa is known as the king of corn but lately, there also appears to be a bumper crop of acorns. Anyone who’s taken a walk near oak trees has crunched across many hundreds of the dime-sized seeds with the cute caps. Mike Reinikainen (rain-ee-KY-nen) is a silviculturist (SILL-vah-culturalist), or an expert forester, and he says that abundance of acorns is called “oak masting” and it’s a cycle of nature.

Iowa’s been weathering a drought for several years and we’ve seen a slew of hundred-degree records set in recent weeks. Reinikainen says that’s all playing a role in the oak masting as fall approaches.

Iowa homeowners with oaks on their property don’t need to be concerned. Reinikainen says there is -no- evidence to suggest acorns damage your lawn by changing the p-H balance of the soil, but most people rake them up as a matter of comfort for bare feet or because they’re unsightly.