Harvest is on the horizon, and maturity and dry down will likely be expedited with the return of forecasted warmer temperatures. Looking back 150–170 days and evaluating the current growing season, most crop stressors were environmental (dry or drought conditions) or related to plant disease (primarily in the corn crop). Recent field surveys suggest higher yields in fields that received isolated or intermittent rainfall or had soils with greater water-holding capacity. Soon, combines will be rolling, and the true impact of the growing season’s challenges will be known. We encourage everyone to prepare for a safe harvest season.

With only about an inch of rain over the past 30 days from a single event, the crop is drying down quickly in Northern Champaign County. Corn fields surveyed were generally at R6, or “black layer,” but are still a little way from harvestable. Most fields are still showing green leaf tissue above the ear leaf, but senescence will likely progress quickly with warmer weather in the forecast and minimal chances for rain at this time. Harvest operations were taking place in a couple of seed corn fields I drove by, but I didn’t see any combines rolling in production fields quite yet. Some soybean fields are at R8, or “full maturity,” and will likely be ready for harvest any day now, while others are still in the late R6, or “full seed,” stage—still green throughout much of the canopy. The couple of double-crop soybean fields I visited were at R5, or “beginning seed,” but may struggle to fill pods with the lack of available soil moisture.

All of my three-county area is in some form of drought, with part of it in “D2, Severe Drought.” Crops are maturing rapidly. Due to environmental stress and drought, corn is showing top die-back and firing leaves up to or near the ear. Soybean fields are quickly maturing, with the upper node or nodes of pods having two seeds instead of three.

Over the past few weeks, weather conditions have been fairly dry—so much so that many were hopeful for a shower or two to help finish grain fill. Thankfully, our territory caught a few nice rains, ranging from ¼ inch to 1 inch. Temperatures went from unbearably hot to super comfortable and fall-like, which has been a blessing after a long, abnormally warm spell.

In my opinion, as I’ve revisited corn fields after pollination, the ears have filled very nicely, leaving me anxious for harvest to begin. Last week, most of our cattle producers who chop silage put theirs up. A few growers have also started harvesting their early-maturing varieties, like 106–108-day corn, with moistures as low as 24–25%. Many of the hand-shelled moisture tests I’ve taken have been in the 28–36% range, so we may be a week or so away from broader harvest. I anticipate many more starting next week for sure.

As for soybeans, they are starting to change—and seem to change by the day. Early last week, we flew on the majority of our cover crop mixes that will be used for grazing this fall and into the spring. More planes will be rolling tomorrow, spreading rye and radish mixes over corn going to soybeans.

Harvest has begun, and very dry conditions are moving back in. Fire risk is becoming an issue as harvest picks up speed. Late-planted corn is in real trouble, and all crops are ripening fast.

The earlier heat and lack of rain over the last 4 to 5 weeks brought an earlier senescence for both corn and soybeans. Some areas received a few tenths with the last storm that came through with the cold front, but it was too little, too late. Corn is just about at black layer, with some testing at 19.5 to 24% moisture. Many in the surrounding counties are getting ready to start harvest. The 3.5 maturity soybeans are just starting to turn R7, but the 4.0s are mostly green or at R6.