We are coming out of a very significant heat wave. Northern Illinois is entering a mild drought with little to no rain in the foreseeable future. The Canadian wildfires smoked most of us in Northern Illinois out for the tail end of the week and well into the weekend. I am very thankful all of that has passed and look forward to some milder temperatures and lower humidity days in the coming weeks.

Corn continues to progress through growth stages as we exit the past week’s heatwave. Most fields I saw were in the R2 blister stage, with some fields in R3 milk. I did not see any R4 dough stage fields, but early plantings could certainly be approaching this. Disease continues to be very low in fields. Small amounts of gray leaf spot were found, and I did confirm the first case of Tar spot in a field in Dekalb Illinois today. It was literally one spot on the lowest leaf of an R2 corn plant, but it is present in fields, and something to be aware of. I urge to continue to scout fields as we enter the most critical growth stages for ear and kernel development. If the disease is not present past R4 dough stage, rarely if ever will a fungicide spray be economically viable.

Soybeans continue to look great across northern Illinois. Beans are averaging R3 first pod development, with nearly all fields beyond R1 flowering. I’ve seen very little to no disease, and the only thing that is holding back bean fields at this point was early season flooding. Overall, not a lot to report on the soybean side as many fields are looking very healthy and robust.

The heat wave is upon us this week bringing 90+ degree temperatures with very high humidity. After a few weeks of cooler weather and lots of precipitation, the corn and soybeans that were not waterlogged are thriving and have jumped multiple growth stages since last week. I scouted corn fields anywhere between V5/V6 up to V10 with rapid growth from all the heat units being added into the environment. Soybeans are a bit more spaced out depending on planting date, with some fields as far along as R2 upper node flowering.

Water damage from previous storms is becoming increasingly evident where it was sitting for multiple days, drowning out both corn and soybeans, with many fields showing bare ground from a low spot leading to islands of complete crop loss. Much of this was heavily dependent on who received heavy and damaging rain and winds.

I would advise being vigilant about your scouting for disease. I have not seen tar spot or Northern Corn Leaf Blight (NCLB) yet, but a colleague in Morris Illinois, has found large NCLB lesions in fields. After 2 weeks of ideal tar spot weather, despite not seeing any today, I have concerns we may see early outbreaks this season, especially compared to last season and the early drought we experienced in northern Illinois.

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

Another week, more beautiful and perfect weather for outdoor activities. More notably, another week of little to no rain as we continue to progress into an early summer drought. Most of northern Illinois would be considered to be in a D1 moderate drought as of now. The forecast is promising, with chances this weekend, and most of next week to remedy how dry it has been. With moisture in the forecast, disease monitoring, and keeping an eye on weed pressure should come back into focus. Between corn, soybeans, and wheat I have seen little to no disease to this point in the season which is a great start with how wet April was.

If I could describe the growing season in one word, it would be variable. Varying planting dates, emergence dates, growth stages within the same fields of corn and soybeans. We are seeing ranges of anywhere from stuggling to emerge, to 3rd trifoliate or V3 in corn within many fields across the area. Hopefully the rain will even these patches across the fields over time, but some significant differences are being seen across corn and soybeans.

Wheat is in early feekes 11 or ripening stage. Fields look healthy with little disease, and the weather has progressed the crop nicely as they begin to enter senescence.

Thats all for this week, and we shall see what sort of rain we get in the next week!

This will be a quick report as there is not too much to report since last week. Most fields have emerged in both corn and soy. I’ve seen fields for corn varying from about to emerge to V2 pushing V3. Soybeans are in a similar boat between emerging in fields to 2nd trifoliate (V2). One thing with soybeans is that in some fields, we are seeing staggered and uneven emergence and I’m attesting that to the dry conditions we are experiencing. The beans should go out of this, especially if we can get a timely rain in the near future.

Speaking of dry conditions, we are continuing to see dry and sunny weather. Not much rain in the forecast but the uptick in temperature has been nice considering the cool April and May we have experienced up until last week. Crops should start making some major stage jumps with the heat units being put into the dirt.

One last note I saw across multiple fields was early weed pressure. We are seeing some early breakthroughs with our delays in planting. This should be something to monitor and keep in mind for when early post emergence herbicides go out, as they will have some significant growth by then.

Thanks all until next week, look forward to seeing you all then!

Overall, planting is close to finished across more of northern Illinois. Field work over the last two weeks has been non-stop, and most fields I saw were either planted or just beginning to emerge, whether that was corn or soybeans. After a wild and wet April, May has been very dry and unusually cool, with a few late spring overnight frosts. Some of the early plantings of corn and soybeans were showing some slight damage, but nothing that they wouldn’t grow out of.

As I mentioned, May has been very dry so far, with many of the major storms going south and hitting central and southern Illinois. Parts of northern Illinois have slipped back into a very mild drought, and we should continue to monitor that as we finish with May and enter the summer months. With planting being delayed and most crops just emerging, the season is a bit behind last year. Some concerns to watch will be pressure from weeds depending on when pre-emergent herbicides were applied, but otherwise we are off and running on another season.

The coming weeks will be more eventful as crops begin to take off, and it will hopefully be a smooth and productive season!

Hello and welcome back to another year of crop scouting reports! For those who don’t know me, I am Steve Brand, a commercial agronomy specialist covering the northern region of Illinois through University of Illinois Extension. To start our crop scouting journey this year, we have had quite a difference from the start of 2025 in that we are not currently in a drought. The problem with that is, to get to this point, we have had excessive rain across all of northern Illinois through March and April, with some cooler temperatures to boot. Fields are currently still wet, with little corn and soybeans in the ground by the end of the first week in May.

Driving through Lake County, McHenry County and DeKalb County this week showed little field activity, with few fields planted overall. Recent storms followed by cool and frosty nights have led to very poor drying conditions. As we enter the weekend and next week, I expect fields to dry out and the big planting push for corn and soybeans to begin. A bit farther south along the Interstate 80 corridor, I saw active field tillage, pre-emergent herbicide applications and general field maintenance in preparation for planting, so those areas are a bit further ahead than the far northern reaches of the state.

With the large amount of rain accumulated in April, we also saw plenty of localized flooding along the Fox River and Rock River, with some areas seeing 2- to 3-foot water-level increases. Those levels are close to returning to normal as I write this. April obviously brought plenty of severe weather to induce the flooding. Illinois, from Jan. 1 through April 30, has experienced 119 tornadoes across the state, which is more than double the number of the next closest state. I, for one, am hopeful these weather patterns have passed and we can move forward into the summer with calmer weather.

I’ll see you all next week with another report, and I am excited to see fields planted through the weekend and really get this season underway.

Conditions over the past two weeks have reverted back to being dry, with temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s. The corn and soybeans have been progressing very quickly with the increased Growing Degree Units (GDUs) and just enough moisture. As we look at the drought map, most of northern Illinois remains in D0 drought, with a small area south of Chicago in D1. The future forecast calls for more of the same: lower humidity and moderately high temperatures. I expect growing conditions to be ideal as we move through ear and pod fill in both crops. On the season, we are approaching 1,900 GDUs.

Corn is moving quickly through reproductive stages and is mostly at R3 (milk stage), with a few fields slightly behind at late-stage R2. Within the fields, disease is starting to creep in, but it is nothing I would be overly concerned about. Tar spot is replicating in the lower leaves thanks to some lower temperatures and heavy dews, but fungicides are keeping the upper canopy clean and ideal for ear fill. I have not seen much northern corn leaf blight. Gray leaf spot is present in the lower canopy, but again, this isn’t anything to worry about. I’ve seen a few corn leaf beetles, but they remain far below any threshold of economic loss. Overall, corn is looking great as we enter a bit of a lull in the growing season.

Soybeans have made a large jump in size thanks to the weather and ideal growing conditions. Fields with taller varieties are chest-high on me (6’3″, for reference) and are lush. Pods are beginning to fill out and are mostly at R4, entering R5 as the beans begin seed fill. Overall, this is one of the cleanest years disease-wise that I have seen in soybeans. Ideal temperatures and a general lack of moisture have produced very little disease pressure. Other than the occasional wet spot from heavy rains in July, soybeans are looking great across the board.

It’s another hot week upon us as a heat dome settles over the Midwest. July so far has brought 3.5 to 5 inches of rain, depending on the area, excluding Will County, which remains in a somewhat severe drought. Northwest Illinois is on pace with historical averages and enjoying a great growing season. South of Chicago and some suburban counties are drier than normal and continue to be in either a D1 or D2 drought. Corn planted on April 25 is likely around 1,500–1,600 growing degree units for the season.

Corn is mostly tasseled across the region, ranging from R1 to R2 (blister stage) and looking very healthy. With recent rains, disease has finally arrived across northern Illinois. I confirmed tar spot in DeKalb, Kane, McHenry, and Lake counties this week, with strong suspicions it is also present in DuPage and nearby counties. All plants I scouted had one or two lesions on the leaf below the ear leaf. At this point in the season, most fungicides have already been applied and should protect the crop through harvest. Scouting will help determine if additional sprays are needed, though anything after R3 is generally not recommended. Gray leaf spot has also been working its way up corn plants.

Soybeans are progressing well. Disease pressure is low, and they are moving into R4, with 3/4-inch pods. While we’re still seeing some stunting in northern Illinois from early drought and delayed emergence, overall soybean health looks good. Not much else to report, as pods are setting and filling.

The rains have finally arrived in northern IL, with a handful of widespread storm events and more starting this weekend and pushing into next week. Most areas have reverted to D0 or D1 drought status, and crops are doing well. Will County is the only area still in a D2 drought. With the rain and cooler temperatures in the forecast, disease may finally start to creep into our corn and soybean plots. This late in the season generally won’t have a large impact on yields, but scouting is still recommended through ear fill in corn, as well as scouting for white mold and frogeye in soybeans.

Corn is tasseling across the I-80 corridor. The DeKalb area was around 80% of fields at VT/R1, with the stragglers around V12/13 and spiking. Corn blotch leafminer is showing up in the lower leaves of multiple fields I scouted between DeKalb and Crystal Lake. This is also the kind of weather tar spot thrives in — wet, with intermittent rains and cooler temperatures overall. I would not be surprised if it is already in fields in northern IL or develops quickly with the upcoming forecast. Scouting is your best measure to know if it’s in your fields, as always. Corn overall is healthy, and I have not seen any fields with wind or hail damage despite the severe weather we have been seeing.

Soybeans are pushing quickly through growth stages. Most bean fields I scouted are in R3 and nearing R4 very quickly, if they aren’t already there. Disease pressure is low currently, with small amounts of Japanese beetle damage, but nothing that will lead to economic loss. I will be scouting heavily for white mold, SDS, frogeye, and other fungal diseases in the coming weeks if the water has turned on and stays on.