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.

It’s been wet. There were a couple of breaks in the rain long enough for anhydrous and burndowns to be applied, even a little early tillage, but no planting activity as far as I’ve seen. The wheat looks decent considering the 15+ inches of rain that have fallen since April 1st. In the last week, the wheat has headed out and started to flower.

Southern Clinton County and into Washington has seen harvest begin more than the north half or Marion county. Quite a few farms are working on corn fields here. Corn throughout the region seems to have hit black layer and is still a little on the wet side for the most part, but harvestable. First crop soybeans are defoliating quickly and double crops are just beginning to see a few tinges of yellow while still filling those top pods thanks to the rains the last couple weeks. This late season moisture is delaying harvest now but will surely boost double crop yields. I have seen one bean field harvested and drilled (presumably to wheat) as of today.

The tropical storm blessed most of southern Illinois with somewhere between a quarter or even over an inch of rain, which is especially helpful to the double crop beans still filling their top pods. First crop soybean fields are yellowing but still a ways off from physiological maturity for the most part. Corn is still drying down; most is still not quite to black layer. Lots of silage has been cut in the past couple of weeks. Still not much in the way of harvest occurring in southern Illinois; I’ve only seen one corn field shelled and heard of one soybean field being cut.

Corn is solidly into dent(R5) but later planted fields still have milky kernels. First crop beans are still filling out pods, or aborting at the uppermost nodes due to the consistently dry weather. Just in the past week, some fields have started yellowing. Double crop beans are also in R6, and could benefit from rain if this tropical storm does blow up from the Gulf.

Most corn is settling into dent(R5) at this point. Haven’t found any to black layer quite. First crop beans are around R6, haven’t seen any fields with yellowing leaves this far south yet.