Several days of favorable weather and soil conditions had the planters rolling aggressively. More than half of the soybean acres were planted this week, and a few corn acres as well. Spraying has been hampered by consistent high winds, but there are some soil-applied, residual pre-emergence herbicides going down in the early morning hours before the wind picks up. The area received 0.72 inches of rain on Wednesday night, which put a temporary halt to fieldwork.

With the rapid accumulation of GDUs this spring, wheat has already reached growth stage Feekes 8, the critical stage of flag leaf emergence. This leaf is responsible for most of the photosynthesis that drives head fill and grain production. Protecting it against disease and insect damage is important to optimize yield. No visible signs of disease yet, but conditions have shifted toward being favorable for development of several foliar diseases, and storms blowing in from the south could be carrying spores. I will be applying foliar fungicide applications to research plots today, evaluating potential benefits of flag leaf protection. Overlap areas on the nitrogen application are looking prone to lodging at this stage. In the photos, we can still see the freeze damage on the lower leaf and also a little damage near the stem on the middle leaves that appears to be some very early windowpane feeding by cereal leaf beetle. There are a few stink bugs milling about, which could cause problems later as the heads emerge. Time to scout and be diligent.

Started off the week with rain, so field conditions have not been optimal for fieldwork. Our area is officially out of the drought. With the ground being moist, people are still preparing for when it becomes dry. While expecting more rain this weekend, the hope is to get conditions dry enough for next week.

We have kept ourselves busy by helping with FFA events, “Land Use Council 4 Envirothon” for Fulton County, Hancock County, McDonough County, Knox County and Warren County, and Ag in the Classroom, “Ag Day for fourth graders.”

Soil temperatures have risen to around 62 degrees. Temperatures are staying warmer throughout the night, which will help keep soil temperatures up and continuing to rise.

Temperatures this week ranged from the low 30s to low 80s, with strong winds up to 40 mph and the potential for patchy frost from Saturday night into Monday morning. We received 0.75 to 1.5 inches of rain over the past week, which continues to chip away at the drought, leaving an estimated 3 to 6 inches still needed. Fields have been too wet for much activity the past several days, and additional rain could keep things slow into early next week.

There was a burst of field activity late last week ahead of the rain, with some progress made on tillage, pre-emerge, and anhydrous ammonia applications, though overall activity has been lighter as growers wait for better soil moisture for planting. No known soybeans have been planted locally yet, early-planted corn has started to spike, and reports indicate wheat is already heading in southern Illinois, with several local fields not far behind.

Until last night, many farmers were in the field over the past eight days applying ammonia or burndown treatments, while others were tilling and planting. It was a very good run, but limited rainfall raised concerns about delayed or uneven corn and soybean emergence. Over the past week, about 135 GDDs have accumulated, with most occurring in the past three days due to warm temperatures. Just under an inch of rain fell overnight, providing needed moisture to support emergence. Field conditions are now too wet for fieldwork for the next several days, and it is too early to evaluate plant stands.

Planting is in full swing in southern Illinois, with some areas to the east finished or close to finishing. Many areas could use rain, which would help get the crop up and going.

Weather is warmer and drier than normal, and I think we will start to see planters rolling a little early this season. In this report, I would like to focus attention on the carry-over effects of 2025 trials on 2026 cereal rye cover crops. The first image is the 0-N treatment from a 2025 MRTN trial. The second image is a 0-N treatment alongside a 200-N treatment in the same trial. In both images, the biomass on the 0-N control is significantly less than where we used commercial nitrogen. This begs two questions: how much nitrogen would be lost from near optimum N rates if we weren’t growing a cereal rye cover behind it? And just as importantly, if we are trying to build soil health, how important is commercial nitrogen to drive biomass production? The last image is a little harder to interpret, but it shows the residual strips of greater cereal rye biomass associated with a 2025 in-furrow nitrogen fixing bacteria treatment applied with only water. This begs another question: what is the long-term value/impact of biological treatments in the soil biome? As usual, agronomy comes with more questions than answers and a lot of ‘it depends’, but we are seeing some clues to help us figure out what’s happening.