What a turn of events over the last couple of weeks from the start of the season. Heavy rains, hail, strong winds, and even tornadoes have brought out of the early drought and well past into extremely saturated soils. Areas hit hard by storms have significant standing water. Established crops have begun to show signs of stress and are being drown out in low areas with long standing water. Those who avoided the flooding are enjoying great moisture. We are seeing significant growth across both corn and soybeans.

Early in the season, there was staggered emergence, and lots of variability within fields and that largely faded out as crops even out with ample water. Field to field is still showing high variability and that is mostly due to staggered planting with rain events in April and early May. I’ve seen soybean fields anywhere from V2, with some fields approaching R1 flowering in the next week or so. Fields looks healthy as far as the crops are (outside of aforementioned flooding and water logging damage). With delayed emergence and plenty of water recently, missed post applications could become a problem quickly as weed pressure is taking off. I have not seen much if any disease in soybeans yet. The dry conditions early on prevented a lot of soil-borne diseases from taking hold such as pythium or phytophthora. Once soybeans start to canopy, we will need to remain vigilant for late season disease such as white mold and SDS. Overall, soybeans look good with all things considered.

Corn has started to jump growth stages quickly. Other than low spots and fields with extreme flooding, much like soybeans and corn are looking great. Most fields I visited were in the V5 growth stage, with some a little further west near Amboy at V6 and growing quickly. One thing to really look out for in corn will be disease in the coming weeks. Many foliar fungal diseases (Tar spot, Gray Leaf Spot, and Northern Corn Leaf blight) thrive in cooler, wet conditions with extended leaf wetness. These are the exact conditions we are seeing currently before an end of week warm up. Many of these diseases, such as tar spot, can infect plants but won’t show symptoms until 10-14 days after the initial infection. I would highly recommend scouting vigilantly starting next week to catch any early signs of disease so you can act accordingly. Early infections of tar spot can wipe out fields of corn, so, it’s very important to be on top of.

I will touch on wheat quickly. Fields are drying down nicely, with many fields ready to harvest. They appear healthy and disease-free from what I have scouted. If we catch some breaks from the rain, early July could be in play for harvest.

For help identifying windows when weather conditions are optimal for diseases to replicate, using the Crop Protection Network crop risk tool can be very helpful. This site has a multitude of helpful tools, and I will link it below.

https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/tools

Last week brought another 3 to 4 inches of rain across Logan County. This has helped alleviate concerns about drought or dry conditions in the short term. Despite the high winds from some of the storm systems last week, there appear to be very few signs of wind damage to crops. Nearly all of the corn is at knee-height or higher, with some of the earliest-planted corn at V9-V10. Soybeans across the county also look healthy, with the earliest-planted fields in the V5 stage.

With the incoming heatwave, we expect to have corn tassels by the 4th of July. With rain almost every week, it is no surprise that gray leaf spot has started to show up, and a few lesions can be found on the second leaf from the ground. Early planted soybeans are full of blooms and at R2. Septoria brown spot is just starting to show up on lower leaves. Fungicide applications will need to be made soon on both corn and soybeans. Interesting to note that I have not been able to spot many Japanese beetles yet. Meanwhile, rain has hindered post herbicide applications on late planted soybeans. It has also put a damper on the wheat harvest and planting double-crop soybeans.

Field conditions are still wet in northern Champaign County, with 2.5-3 inches of rain falling across most of that half of the county since June 17. A large proportion of fields I saw during my survey on Wednesday (6/24) morning had at least some low-lying and/or poorly drained areas with stunted, dying, or dead crop from the inundation those plants have experienced over the past couple of weeks. For the most part, these areas were relatively isolated in fields, and standing water is no longer present. However, I did see several fields with large areas of dead or stunted crop, some still with standing water. Relief from the wet conditions may still be a few days away, with more rain in the forecast for the remainder of this week. But drier conditions and warmer temperatures in next week’s forecast offer some hope.

Because of the generally wet conditions we had in this part of the state so far this season, crop progress is variable both across the area and across the field, in many cases. Healthy areas of corn fields are generally somewhere around V8, with some fields getting closer to the V10-V11 growth stages. Most soybean fields are still in vegetative growth stages, but I did find a handful of fields that have started to flower (R1) and a couple fields getting closer to full flower (R2). Wheat fields I checked were nearing full senescence with grain in the ‘ripening’ stage (Feekes 11.3) and could likely be harvested next week if the hot and dry forecast holds. As can be expected, weed control was variable across the area, with some fields presumably missing their timely post-emergence application windows due to the wet conditions. That said, I saw several sprayers on the roads while doing my survey, so at least some of those acres may get covered today or tomorrow, if the rain holds off long enough.

Another week with precipitation, in many areas ground sprayers have been unable to operate since June 7th. Many fields that are inherently poorly drained are ponded and both corn and soy are suffering. Farmers are facing the challenge of post applications of herbicide for corn and soy, and in some cases nitrogen for the corn crop. Warmer and dryer weather is desperately needed for the crops in the area. Most soy in the area not stressed by saturated soil has reached R2 (full flower), corn has reached V11. Waterhemp has reached 18 to 24 inches in untreated fields. Area alfalfa fields are flowering and Japanese Beetle have emerged in Northeast Illinois.

Crops are generally doing quite well, although severe storms on June 17 did bring high winds and hail to portions of the 3-county area. The majority of the corn is in the V8 to V12 stage, and soybean fields are in the R1 stage. Presently, seeing only minor Gray Leaf Spot lesions in a few fields, and no Tar Spot so far. Japanese beetles are emerging. Low areas in fields are showing ponding and water-damaged plants. There will be cornfields tasseling by July 4.

Peoria County has received around 4.5 inches of rain over the past two weeks, with limited opportunities for soils to dry between events. Fields with good drainage are doing well overall, but poorly drained areas are showing ponding. This week has provided a needed window for some dry down, and I haven’t seen any widespread crop damage from wind. Looking ahead, another chance of moisture followed by higher temperatures should support crop growth but may increase disease concerns.

2026 may be the tale of two (or three) seasons. Pictures above show the contrast between corn planted in early April vs no-till corn in cover crops planted late May, and also first crop soybeans planted early April (flowering) and those planted early June. Early crops appear to have a distinct advantage, but we will have to see how the season plays out. Everything planted in the middle of those two windows struggled to emerge and many acres had to be replanted. Some of that middle season corn is V5-V7 now and growing rapidly, but showing some unevenness across the field, probably due to compaction and waterlogged soils.

Soft red winter wheat is nearing harvest, with some acres having been cut in the area. Yields are reportedly very, strong and we are anxious to get started on harvest.

Storms dropped another 1.9″ of rain this week along with some powerful tornados that ripped through the area and caused extensive damage to buildings and trees. Thank the Lord, we were safe and were spared any damage at our farm. Prayers to those families who were not so fortunate.

Side-dress N and post herbicide in corn should wrap up next week. Some early beans got first post herbicide apps before the big rain.

It has been unusually quiet so far this year for insect reports. Late last week, I received a report of spider mite activity in soybean in south-central Illinois near Macedonia. Most of the state received a healthy (or even unhealthy) dose of rain at least once or twice in the last week – that will do more to eliminate spider mites as a threat than even the best miticides available. Cooler temperatures will also help. If you are in an area that remains hot and dry and have spider mites, evaluate the potential for continued growth in the population based on the weather forecast and the extent of current injury to make a control decision.

I’ve also received a report that grape colaspis are active again in at least a limited area near Mt. Auburn where they have been a problem in the past. Affected plants will exhibit nutrient deficiency symptoms, especially purpling of the lower leaves and often concentrated on higher/better drained portions of the fields. Digging up the plants will reveal the larvae, which resemble tiny white grubs. By this point, affected plants will be noticeably stunted relative to surrounding, healthy plants, and the larvae may be close to finishing their development and emerging as adults. There is no effective rescue treatment for this pest in corn.

We will again be distributing yellow sticky traps to anyone who wishes to participate in our regional corn rootworm monitoring network. If that applies to you, send me an email (nseiter@illinois.edu) with “rootworm monitoring” in the subject heading.

Another week, with yet another round of storms and rain across Logan County. Storms on June 17th brought anywhere from 2 to 3 inches of rain. While ditches and low-lying areas are full of water, there does not appear to be any significant crop damage from the high winds that accompanied the rain. This latest round, combined with roughly half an inch over the weekend, will surely add some extra “gas” in the tank for crop growth as temperatures and conditions appear to remain favorable over the coming days.