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The month of March in Illinois was 4-5 degrees warmer and 1-2 inches lower in precipitation than normal. At Champaign, 170 growing degree days (GDD) accumulated in March, and less than 2 inches of rain fell from March 10 through the end of the month. The dry weather had fields in some places dry enough to work and plant around the middle of March,…
Illinois Extension has released two updated publications on corn and soybean management in Illinois.
These publications offer guidance to assist producers, crop consultants, and agronomists on how to manage Illinois corn and soybean crops in the most efficient and profitable manner. The recommendations provide guidelines and should be adjusted to suit the specific conditions of each producer’s cropping systems.
The publications are designed as a quick reference and provide research-based, current information on:
The publications can be found linked on the Illinois Extension Crops website under Publications/Fact Sheets,…
If we were to look at the records of planting date and weather from 2024 without knowing the yields, we might not guess that corn yield beat and soybean tied previous yield records for Illinois. Here, we’ll take a quick look at the 2024 growing season, and consider whether we might apply lessons from it as we manage crops in 2025.
Growing season weather and crop conditions
Illinois weather was on its usual rollercoaster in 2024: February was dry,…
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With warm weather prevailing through most of September and dry conditions through mid-October, corn and soybean harvest in Illinois has progressed well, with 49% of the corn crop and 62% of the soybean crop harvested by October 13, compared to 5-year averages of 44% for corn and 47% for soybeans. September rainfall was 1 to 3 inches below normal, and hardly any rain has fallen so far in October;…
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April temperatures were warmer than normal in Illinois, making the January-April period one of the warmest on record. April was also wetter than normal, and as rains have continued into May, questions about nitrogen (N) losses continue to increase. This concern is greater for fall-applied N, but warm soil temperatures and wet soils have some people talking about the possible need for more N to replace what might have been lost so far.…
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While statewide precipitation in March averaged 3.21 inches (89% of normal), we saw a clear north-south gradient within Illinois, with totals ranging from half to an inch above normal in the northern part of Illinois to as much as up to two inches below normal in the southern end of the state. April began with above-average precipitation across the state, with 7-day totals averaging almost 2 inches,…
Rainfall in the first two weeks of August recharged soil moisture across much of Illinois, but since then, the combination of low rain amounts and very high temperatures (4.7 to 8.9 degrees above average) brought on some stress during the last week of August. The August 29 U.S. drought monitor map from last week showed about 43% of the state with no stress, 42% abnormally dry, and 15% with moderate drought. Parts of central and southern Illinois received between 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rain this week,…
Rainfall in late June and early July brought relief from very dry conditions, but soils dried out again before August 5-9 rains over most of Illinois recharged soil moisture enough to restore crop prospects for the 2023 season. The August 15 U.S. drought monitor map showed 28% of Illinois to have no drought, 57% to be abnormally dry, and 14% to be in moderate drought. At this point in the season, there’s little concern about abnormal dryness,…
Nearly all of Illinois received rainfall in the late June and early July, with amounts of 2 to 5 inches across a large part of the state (Figure 1). There is more variability than the map shows – for example, only 1.67 inches fell at Willard Airport near Champaign, not the 2.5-3” indicated on the map. But there is no doubt that the rain boosted crop prospects for 2023, and reversed the month-long decline in crop condition.…
The first two months of the 2023 growing season have been much like the first two months of the 2022 growing season, with a few key differences. The 2023 crop was planted earlier and into somewhat drier soils – some producers actually waited to plant during part of the second half of April until the weather warmed up. By May 7, 73% of the corn and 66% of the soybean had been planted, compared to the 14% for corn and 10% for soybean from May 7,…