Overall, conditions in northern IL have remained hot and dry. We have consistently been missing the rain to the north or south, and the area is sliding back into a predominantly D1 drought. The rain we received a week ago has helped most fields recover from any drought stress, but the fields that have missed rain the entire season are struggling badly with skinny, withered, pineapple corn. There are a few chances of rain predicted in the near future, but overall it appears we will be seeing more of the same hot and dry weather.

Corn is still varying throughout the region, with some fields in Lake and McHenry counties being slowed and stunted around V6, while an overwhelming majority of the region is sitting around V9–V10. Some fields are at V12 with spike leaf present, but those fields are few and far between as I am writing this. The corn has jumped in height on average, but I am expecting a shorter, stunted corn plant this year overall due to the weather conditions. I have yet to find disease in any of the fields I have scouted this season in the area. The hot and dry conditions are suppressing any disease emergence on the corn, but areas that have been hit with isolated storms could still have disease starting to propagate. Overall, corn is short, thirsty, and disease-free going into the Fourth weekend.

Soybeans are varying between R1 and R2. Flowers were present in every field I scouted. The soybeans are short overall, again due to the environmental conditions. Fields have not canopied very well — if at all — yet this season. I have not seen disease in the soybeans, but over the last couple of weeks there has been plenty of burn damage, which has been exacerbated by the hot and dry conditions. The beans should grow out of it, like they always do, but there is a lot of burn and cupping visible in fields.

Wheat is all but ripe across the north. Feekes 11.4, or full maturity, is upon us in most fields, and harvest should start rolling in the next handful of days depending on folks’ Fourth of July plans. Disease is all but nonexistent in the fields I’ve seen. The dry spring and summer never allowed the fungus and bacteria to take hold, and it should be a clean crop overall this summer.