To put it simply, it’s a race to the finish in corn. Tar spot and southern rust are really taking over the plant as we start September. The cool temps, coupled with fungicide residuals wearing off, are the perfect recipe for disease. In beans, you’re just starting to see some early maturities turn. Over the last couple of weeks, I have started to see sudden death and white mold, with sudden death seeming more prevalent. The rain in mid-August really made me more optimistic about the bean crop, but if we could catch another rain in the next 10 days, that would be ideal.

We went from very hot and humid at the beginning of August to mild temps with cool nights to end the month. Dewy mornings have kept the crop canopy holding a lot of moisture throughout the day.

Most of the four-county area I cover caught 2–5 inches of rain in mid-August, which really helped pod and grain fill. Central DeKalb County caught another half inch this week.