After some needed rains came through the area, harvest has been stalled for a couple days in the region. During my survey of southern Vermilion County, I saw a few combines parked in the field ready to get rolling again soon. Of the harvested fields I saw, it was about a 60/40 split, with more soybeans harvested than corn. At this time, I would estimate about 10 percent of the fields I passed by during my survey had been harvested. For the standing corn fields surveyed, the majority were at or within a couple days of R6 (black layer). Most soybean fields have made it at least into R7 (beginning maturity) with quite a few at R8 and just waiting for field conditions to dry up a bit more before being harvested.

Harvest is underway throughout the county for some producers while other fields are still shy of maturity. This week brought cooler temperatures but we are still experiencing dry soils. We did see some scattered light showers in the morning on 9/24 but not enough to slow harvest. Be sure to check fire extinguishers and combines for buildup as we go into harvest, especially given the drier conditions. Have a safe and great harvest season!

Some very welcome rains have been received over the past week with totals varying from less than 1″ to nearly 3″ in my 3-county area. Corn and soybean fields are being harvested with yields being reported as good. If you are planning on letting your corn dry in the field, please check those fields for their standability. and whether they need to be harvested earlier rather than later. I ran across an area where the corn fields had suffered weather stress issues during the growing season and the stalk quality was not great (see photo).

Harvest has kicked off in most of the region. As I have traveled northern Illinois and Eastern Iowa, I have seen some really nice fields as well as some that were stressed. Northern Illinois looked really nice. Some fields were heavily impacted by Tar Spot. That is the main disease I consistently found. Other diseases that I often found but in lesser degrees were Northern Corn Leaf Blight, Southern Rust and Anthracnose Stalk Rot. Many of the soybeans are turning and it is obvious there is a lack of water in most of the region as it is not a uniform appearance.

In the last week, more producers have begun harvesting their crops across Logan, Menard, and Sangamon counties. While there was rain last Friday, it was not enough to slow down the harvest. Many producers seem to be getting their early-planted soybeans out first, with some early-planted corn also coming out. Temperatures in the mid to high 80s have helped crops mature and be ready for harvest. In speaking with producers, corn in drier, sandier soils are below 20% moisture, while most other fields are between 20-25% moisture.

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.