We received some much-needed (if sporadic) rainfall in the last week that has crops looking much better than in previous weeks. Areas of Bureau County reported over 5 inches on Friday night, though that storm system petered out by the time it reached LaSalle County. LaSalle County did receive about 2 inches of rainfall on Wednesday night. Thankfully, temperatures have also cooled off a little bit for the time being, and there is more rain in the forecast for this weekend and early next week.

Overall, crops are looking healthy. Wheat in LaSalle County was harvested the first week of July. Most corn is now reaching VT/R1. Most soy is entering reproductive stages, with many fields at R3. I have not seen any serious disease or pest concerns in the fields I have scouted, but tar spot has now been reported in LaSalle, Bureau, and Marshall counties, so growers should continue to scout fields and be on the lookout for this disease. Corn is reaching the growth stages where it could benefit from a fungicide application, and I have seen both ground and aerial sprayers at work in the past week.