After some much needed heat and sunshine, the crop has really taken off in the last week! Heavy rains in some areas, but there’s pockets that could use a rain as well!

There were a few days dry enough for field activity such as planting, tillage, side-dressing and pre/post herbicides. We became rained out again after receiving 0.7 inches on Friday, May 15th. There are now a wide range of growth stages of corn (VE – V5) and soybean (VE – V3) with some finishing up planting and others side-dressing corn or applying post herbicides. There also has been some replanting or spotting in of corn and soybeans. Recent heat has finally helped crops green up and grow.

This week we have been busy helping with the Knox County Ag in the Classroom for fourth graders. We helped by teaching students about planting wildflowers and pumpkins. Also, the importance of crops and soil to Illinois and gave drone application demos. We believe it is important to teach younger generations about agriculture and what we do in ag retail to provide support to farmers. Paired with Ag Day, this event helped students get hands-on experience and learn more about agriculture.

Farmers are making good progress planting this week and many are expecting to wrap by the end of the weekend. The soil has finally become fit for planting; this has helped tremendously with field progress. We have also been planting corn/soybean variety test plots to evaluate throughout the growing season. This research will help us know which varieties perform better under this season’s growing conditions in a side-by-side setting.

In our travels this week we have been checking on emerged corn and soybean fields, focusing on emergence and crop stands. Farmers that have waited for optimal conditions for planting corn have finally received their wish. Soil temps have warmed and soils are not sticky to the feel. Now that most farmers have their crops in, we would welcome a nice steady rain to help with crop growth and development over the weeks to come.

Conditions have been mixed for fieldwork in Logan County over the last week. Sporadic rain showers have limited some field operations, but there are no signs of delay for most producers. There are still a good number of fields that need to be planted, with warmer temperatures over the coming days surely to provide the right conditions to get seeds in the ground. Corn and soybeans that have emerged appear healthy, with no obvious signs of frost or heavy rainfall damage.

A favorable week for field work in the region. Many corn and soy fields were planted and operations continue in the area. Earlier planted corn appears to be emerging with a slight advantage to soy. This week we will be starting the aphid suction collection trap in Morris, part of the Suction Trap Network that will be monitored through October. This trapping program is led by Dr. Doris Lagos-Kutz, Illinois Natural History Survey-Prairie Research Institute. The program generates data on aphids and other beneficial and pest insects across multiple states. (https://suctiontrapnetwork.org/)
While corn and soy crops are waiting for consistently warm weather to expedite growth, several weed species have flowered or grown rapidly in untreated or unworked fields. They include the yellow flowered winter annual Butterweed, and the early emerging summer annual Giant Ragweed.

Cooler than average temperatures have remained in the east central Illinois region. That, combined with the 4 to 6″ of rain much of the region has received over the past 30 days, continues to slow planting progress and early crop growth. In southern Vermilion County this week, soils were just drying up enough for field work and planting to resume. I saw a number of fields that had been tilled and/or planted in the past couple days, as well as several planters rolling down the roads and in fields during my Wednesday morning survey. About 10% of fields had emerged crop, with the most advanced fields of corn at V3-V4 and soybeans at VC-V1. In those fields, damage from the recent storms was visible on early-emerged leaves, but new growth is intact and looking healthy.