From late April to late June, this area was one of the wettest areas of the state according to Trent Ford. Crops were planted in the early window in April and look great. Later planted crops had much more difficulty emerging between heavy rains. Lots of delays and replant decisions have been made through this region between I-70 and Rt 50. The precipitation also stymied the harvest of what was otherwise a relatively early maturing wheat crop. Heavy winds and hard rains battered kernels from heads even if the wheat avoided lodging. Subsequently, planting of doublecrop and even some first crop soybeans stretched into the first week of July. I saw a drill still running on July 7th, planting first crop beans and not replants. Folks had to decide whether to mud in double crop soybeans or wait for rutted fields to dry. Thankfully the moisture persisted long enough that those mudded in plantings didn’t turn to concrete before emergence. I’ve seen more tilled double crop fields this year than I can ever remember, which is a testament to the wet conditions during harvest.

The good news is our subsoil moisture is fully recharged after a dry winter. Corn that got planted in our early window is at VT or even on the verge of R2. Despite the recent hot temperatures, it has established a good root system and does not seem to be showing signs of heat stress. Late planted corn (Late May to June) didn’t have as much time to establish a strong roots and shows some signs of heat stress, sometimes just in patches of thin soil and some entire fields.