We have had intermittent showers over the past week, so there has been a lot of opportunity for farmers to finish planting. The vast majority of fields in LaSalle County have been planted and have seedling emergence. Corn is ranging in development from VE to V4. Soybeans are ranging from VE to V1.

If you stop and listen, you can hear the corn (and soybeans) growing. April planted corn is V6, April planted beans are V3, May planted corn is V3, May planted soybeans are VC. No weeds thanks to a post herbicide spray and some side dressing Nitrogen. Minor bean leaf beetle feeding on soybeans.

While many fields were planted between rains during the last few weeks, there are still many unplanted fields in the region. Of the non-wheat acres, roughly a third of fields are out of the ground, mostly corn ranging from V2-V6. Another third have been planted and have not yet emerged or are just spiking, reflecting the recent planting push. The final third is unplanted, presumably left for first-crop beans since most of the standing crop is corn.

Strong winds from the last round of storms have contributed to a large amount of lodged wheat this season.

Last week remained dry despite the small chances of rain. The rain didn’t hit this region until Friday late morning with nearly an inch of rain total throughout the weekend. A lot of corn acres got sprayed with post herbicide applications last week. This morning, much of the corn appears to be in the V4 to V5 growth stage. The earlier planted soybean is around the V2 growth stage.

Last week’s high winds and dust storms sidelined many producers in the area. Warmer temperatures and clear skies later in the week allowed most farmers to catch up on or finish planting across Logan, Menard, and Sangamon counties. Rain on Friday (5/24) and Sunday (5/26) provided some moisture for corn and soybeans that have recently emerged. In earlier-planted fields, corn and soybean plants remain in the V2-V3 stages. In the fields that were more recently planted, corn plants are in the VE stage, and soybean plants are in the VC-VE stages.

The crop in Coles County appears to be off to a good start. Of the fields observed during my transect of the county (5/28), I would estimate approximately 80-90% of fields had been planted, with 60-70% emerged. The majority of those emerged fields were still at early growth stages, but I did find a few corn fields at V4+. The little wheat I saw in the southwest portion of the county was starting to senesce. Soil conditions looked good. I did not see any water standing and only the occasional wet/muddy spot where the crop still looked healthy. These conditions also likely helped with applications of timely post-emergence weed control. I saw only a couple of fields that were in need of attention in that respect.