Illinois Crop Update | September 25, 2026

Steve Brand – Commercial Agronomy Specialist

DeKalb County

Soil Conditions: Moderately Wet (soil is damp, standing water may be present in low areas, water bodies are full)

After a wet finish to last week and more systems moving through over the weekend, we have some very wet and saturated soils across northern Illinois. Corn and Soybeans continue to dry down, but that has slowed with the rain and cooler weather moving in. Any field work that would be happening this week will likely be delayed until next week, when fields and plant material dry down.

Corn is firing to varying degrees up the plant, largely depending on planting date after the wet spring delays we have had. I expect in the next week or so, to start to see the first fields being harvested.

Soybean fields have started to turn as well. Still large amounts of green in the plants, including stems on the further senesced fields. On top of that, the beans themselves will need a bit of extra time to dry out after all the rain this past week.

Disease incidence this season remains low, even after a cool and wet finish to the year. The most concerning note I have is an above average amount of ear rot in fields throughout the north, largely caused by the weather we have seen.

It’s the calm before the storm, and it’s shaping up to be a busy October as always. Stay safe and have a happy harvest!

Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator

Grundy County

Soil Conditions: Near Normal

Sporadic harvest had slowly started in this region before rainfall stopped activities. Once field conditions improve, I expect the 2026 harvest to engage on a larger scale. Farmers are encouraged to take advantage of the lull to check fields and hybrids to determine harvest order. We have had reports on wind-blown and leaning and lodged corn. In several instances, it appears to be hybrid specific. Most corn fields visited are at R6 or black layer and are somewhere between the upper teens and upper twenties in moisture content. There is more variation between soy fields, although most are R7 or beginning maturity. At this stage plants show at least one pod exhibiting its normal color. Mature pod color indicates that the seed is finished accumulating dry matter and increasing in weight. As seeds transition from green to yellow, they are about 60% moisture. R8 or full maturity soy is indicated when 95% of the pods have reached their mature color.

Doug Gucker – Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator

Dewitt, Macon, and Piatt County

Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)

Corn harvest is in full swing, with yields generally good, but not as good as last year’s. Lodging and stalk quality issues are showing up in the May-planted corn fields, adding to this year’s harvest stress. The tip back of the ear’s kernels is very common across the area.

Harvesting of the early-maturity soybeans has begun. Soybean harvest is expected to resume as soon as weather conditions allow.

Talon Becker – Commercial Agronomy Specialist

Vermilion County

Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)

It looks like harvest had just gotten started in northern Vermilion County before the rain put a halt to any field activity. As of Tuesday (9/22) this week, soils were still a bit wet for equipment traffic without risking some rutting and compaction issues. But drier conditions this week have likely allowed some in the region to restart their harvest in the past day or so. Most of the corn fields surveyed are at black layer and ready for harvest. I only found a couple localized areas in the northern half of the county with lodging issues, but stalk rots are still a concern, along with ear rots, which I found with moderate prevalence in a couple fields. A small percentage of the soybean fields have also reached harvestable maturity, although I did not see any soybean fields cut at the time of my survey. Most fields are still holding on to some leaves and are generally somewhere in the middle of beginning and full maturity.

This is our last scheduled crop report of the season. Good luck to all with harvest and stay safe out there.