Conditions remain dry. We haven’t had significant rainfall since mid-July, and while some subsoil moisture is present, the area’s high clay content limits plant availability. After several weeks of heat, corn is showing stress, with leaves firing in areas of thin soil or earlier-season ponding. Corn is beginning to dent.

Most first-crop soybeans are in the R4 to R5 stages, depending on planting date. Later-planted and double-crop beans are still in R2 to R3 and could benefit from late-season rainfall, similar to the inland hurricanes from the Gulf that have boosted yields in recent years.

Spotty storms this week have dumped 1″–3″ of rain across Marion County after our longest stretch without precipitation since March. Our soils didn’t get dry exactly, but this moisture will help see the crop through the heat. This rain also helped even out some stands of double-crop soybeans in spots where the seed didn’t quite make it through the straw down into the soil and had yet to germinate. Most double-crop soybean fields I’ve seen are at V2 and looking good. First-crop soybeans are R1–R2 unless they were planted or replanted late. There were still planters rolling the first week of July, and those are more on pace with the double crops.

Corn in the area is still in vegetative growth stages, but you can feel the tassel forming down in the whorl, so VT is on the horizon.

In Franklin County this week, I found a couple of soybean fields in full flowering (R2), despite being shin-knee high. Beans in this area vaulted straight into flowering at only V5–V6, since days have started shortening after the solstice. Most double-crop beans are in the ground and at VE–VC.

On the corn side, I have seen one field tasseling — it must have been an atypical field that got planted in April. Most corn fields are still vegetative (V9–V10), with no sign of tassels yet.

The main story in southern Illinois this week has been wheat harvest. Despite many farms still having fields unplanted or in need of replanting, the hot weather has dried the wheat, and combines are rolling. Wheat yields are highly variable this year, largely due to the more than 20 inches of rain since March. Fields that are well-drained and typically good for wheat still yielded decently this year. However, fields with marginal drainage—those that are usually acceptable for wheat—had many flooded-out spots, which quickly brought down field averages.

On the bright side, test weights are still good where fungicide was applied. The downside is that, on average, yields are about 5–20% lower than last year. Some parts of fields are still hitting 100+ bushels per acre, but others are coming in at 40 bu/ac. Averages of 70–85 bu/ac seem common.

Hot weather is also drying out the ground, despite pockets of standing water and spotty convective storms. If the weather holds over the next week, double-crop soybeans and the remaining first-crop fields should get planted or replanted.

Still wet. We had one brief window last week in which a little more planting took place, followed by a few more inches of rain. Most fields are planted, but not all—still about 5–10% unplanted in this region. Temperatures in the high 90s are expected over the next several days, so maybe that’ll dry things up enough to finish the first crop. Hot weather should also help bring the wheat crop down the home stretch. The grain is almost dry, but fields are still wet. Hopefully, there will be enough evaporation to avoid rutting up fields during wheat harvest.

Since last week’s update most of the region received 2”-5” of rain, so no planting has taken place.

Pictured here is a typical corn field planted on Memorial Day weekend, currently at V3, decent emergence during our relatively dry 3 week span, but some yellowing as a result of waterlogged soils.

First crop beans are still only partially planted, the typical field that did get in the ground is around VC-V2.

A typical wheat field in Marion county, largely golden, a few greens spots still remaining, grain is in dough stage.

Over the last 2-3 weeks there has finally been a lot of field activity as we’ve been mostly dry with just a few sporadic showers to temper the pace. Other than a couple outlier fields, the most advanced corn is V3/V4, the average corn for the area is VE/V1, with a number of fields in the ground but not up yet. I’d say corn planting is around 90-95% completed. There might be a few fields yet to get in but it seems like most of the corn is in the ground in Marion County.

First crop soybeans on the other hand still have a way to go, I’d guess around 2/3 of them have been planted. Other than a few outlier fields at V3, the average soybean in the area is just emerging this week if it’s in the ground at all.

Given the warm weather over the last week, wheat has turned the corner and is fully marching toward senescence. An hour south of here, in Franklin County, wheat is turning more yellow than green, and the kernels are becoming doughy. Here in Marion County the heads are still mostly greenish, but yellowing fast. Depending on the weather, we are still at least 10-14 days out from wheat harvest.

A considerable amount of planting has taken place over the last two weeks. A decent number of cornfields are spiking around the county. I’ve also spotted a couple of soybean fields around V2. The photo I’m adding is one of those fields, where the stand was a little spotty and it had already been replanted, with the interseeded beans just cracking the surface. The last major storm predicted over Memorial Day weekend fizzled out, which helped planting considerably.

Wheat is starting to senesce in areas damaged by standing water. While the bulk of the field is still green, it’s clear we are just a few weeks out from maturity.

Still wet. We were briefly dry enough at the end of last week to allow some planting, especially on no-till or lightly worked ground. Then, most of the area received 1-2″ of rainfall on May 19-20, which has paused field operations again for now. I have seen a couple of fields in Clinton County with emerged corn and beans that must have been squeezed in a few weeks ago. Hopefully, we will see some emergence in Marion County soon. It is supposed to be windy and sunny for the next few days. We’ll see if any ground can get dry enough to plant before the next forecasted storm rolls through, predicted for May 24-25.

The Illinois Wheat Association had its annual wheat tour on May 20, and estimated an average yield of 106 bu. Considering how wet it has been, the wheat looks pretty good, where it hasn’t been drowned out.

Still very wet. Most of the fungicide is on wheat, which looks good where it hasn’t been drowned out. Still no planters out of the shed. Forecast calling for more rain.