Another week, with yet another round of storms and rain across Logan County. Storms on June 17th brought anywhere from 2 to 3 inches of rain. While ditches and low-lying areas are full of water, there does not appear to be any significant crop damage from the high winds that accompanied the rain. This latest round, combined with roughly half an inch over the weekend, will surely add some extra “gas” in the tank for crop growth as temperatures and conditions appear to remain favorable over the coming days.

Crops are growing well. Soybeans vary from growth stages V3 to R1. Corn fields vary from V4 to V12. Earlier in the week, farmers and custom applicators were trying to finish up post-emergent herbicide applications ahead of the forecasted rains and storms. Unfortunately, still seeing a few farmers attempting to control tall waterhemp that exceeds the 4-inch recommended height limit for effective control.

When I left Illinois for a brief vacation the first week of June, the Northeast Region was dealing with impending drought concerns (note wrapped corn from June 4th). Twelve days and 5+ inches of precipitation for many acres, an entirely new set of concerns for the 2026 crop. New concerns relate to saturated soils, erosion and crop damage caused by moving surface water and wind, and the lack of opportunity to apply post herbicides while weeds are in the optimum treatment window. Even when standing water dissipates, a saturated soil very quickly limits oxygen availability to a growing crop. An oversimplified way of describing the effects of a saturated soil is that the lack of soil oxygen available to the roots can reduce or stop plant functions. This can include transpiration, nutrient uptake, and water uptake. Extended saturated soil can cause visible stunting and even plant death, resulting in varying degrees of reduced final yield. In addition to struggling crops, persistent precipitation has prevented many post-herbicide applications from taking place. A few weeds, especially waterhemp, easily have exceeded the recommended maximum weed size for control of most herbicide. Soy on well drained soils are starting to enter their reproductive stage (flowering). We are near halfway through the growing season and have experienced the environmental conditions of excessively cool, hot, dry, and wet; What’s next?

There is a pocket south of Interstate 70, mostly through Clinton, Marion, and Fayette counties that has received several more inches of rain over the last 60 days which has impeded planting compared to the rest of the state.

Corn planted in early April looks good and is about head height and around V10. Some of the latest corn plantings/replants are just about V2. Growers that didn’t hit that first window have had to struggle with replant decisions.

Some beans also got planted in the first half of April and are nearing canopy close if drilled. However, many beans were not planted until late May/early June with some fields planted in the last week or that have yet to be planted.

Wheat matured a little early this season and harvesting could have begun the second week of June if rain and replants had allowed. As of the Illinois Wheat Association’s annual wheat tour in May, little lodging was reported, but the repeated storms of the last few weeks have caused lodging in some fields. The repeated rains on otherwise mature wheat have also raised concerns of quality degradation.

Last weekend a few combines got rolling, but were stopped by showers on Tuesday 6/16, and forecasts show more rain this week. I saw a few planters trying to squeeze in double crop beans on 6/17 before the next round of rain, hoping either that the straw isn’t too wet to cut through or their row cleaners can clear a path. Hopefully get can get back to cutting by the coming weekend.

Although June started dry, the past 10 days have brought about several inches of rain to most of the east central Illinois region. Soil conditions in Iroquois County, as I conducted my survey on Tuesday (6/16) morning, were already on the wet side, with standing water prevalent, particularly in the southwest portion of the county. And since then, over the past couple days, the latest round of storms have brought another inch of rain or more. Most fields on higher ground with good drainage still looked healthy at the time of my survey, but unfortunately, there were some fields within areas where crop will be lost, either from lack of oxygen to the root or subsequent disease issues, and timely weed control operations will be difficult. Most soybeans in the county appeared to be in the V3-V5 range, but I didn’t see any flowers poking out quite yet. Corn fields were generally somewhere near V5-V7, with some early-planted fields are starting to grow more rapidly as they approach V10. The few wheat fields I visited were somewhere in the late milk to early dough stages (Feekes 11.1-11.2).

The recent heat has caused crops to quickly grow. If you listen closely, you can hear the corn growing. Soybeans are starting to try to canopy and just started to flower (R1). No major pests or diseases seen at this time. We have been blessed with an almost weekly rain. There are still areas in the county that have not been planted or just recently planted or replanted due to heavy rains.