Steve Brand – Commercial Agriculture Specialist
DeKalb County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Dry (soil is drier than normal, plant growth may have slowed)
We have caught a very nice break from severe weather and storms, with some pleasant temperatures to boot, as we begin to enter the home stretch of the growing season. Corn fields across northern Illinois are starting to fire, while soybean fields continue to stay green and produce large pods and seeds.…
by Trent Ford, State Climatologist
ISWS PRI University of Illinois
We had a lovely weather week, seemingly rare for this year. Average temperatures this week ranged from the mid-60s in northern Illinois to high 70s in southern Illinois, between 1 and 4 degrees below average. Lower humidity allowed for some very comfortable overnight temperatures, and even a few – dare I say – nippy early mornings. Some of the more impressive nighttime low temperatures this week included 49 in Elgin and 51 in Danville.…
The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending August 21, 2026. WILLAg.org is a partnership of Illinois Public Media and University of Illinois Extension. Its mission is to distribute regionally, nationally, and internationally information and analysis of commodity markets and agricultural weather.
Agricultural Markets Synthesis
Throughout the week, agricultural commodity markets experienced a counter-seasonal rally supported by evidence of potentially lower corn yields relative to earlier USDA forecasts, but primarily driven by late-season demand for U.S.…
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Weather and crop condition
Planting and emergence of the 2026 Illinois corn crop began a little earlier than normal, and overall average temperatures this summer have kept crop development near a normal pace (Figure 1). Rainfall and temperature fluctuations in late April and early May resulted in uneven emergence and stands in some fields, while repeated rainfall events during June caused flooding and prolonged periods of saturated soils across much of the state.…
Steve Brand – Commercial Ag Specialist
DeKalb County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
The heavy storms and even a derecho have passed, and we have been left with some gorgeous weather to end the week before some more rain chances next week. Not too many updates agronomically from my last update. Corn has moved into R5 dent across northern Illinois, with many fields at the early stages of senescence.…
The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending August 14, 2026. WILLAg.org is a partnership of Illinois Public Media and University of Illinois Extension. Its mission is to distribute regionally, nationally, and internationally information and analysis of commodity markets and agricultural weather.
Agricultural Markets Synthesis
Throughout the week, agricultural commodity markets were primarily driven by the release of USDA’s August Crop Production and WASDE reports, escalating geopolitical turmoil in the Black Sea and Middle East,…
Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Grundy County
Soil Conditions: Moderately Wet (soil is damp, standing water may be present in low areas, water bodies are full)
A very active weather pattern across northeast Illinois that spawned tornados, a derecho, and significant rainfall and flooding across the region. In corn fields, foliar leaf diseases are now more easily detected, including Southern rust. A Southern rust report was received by Dr.…
The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending August 7, 2026. WILLAg.org is a partnership of Illinois Public Media and University of Illinois Extension. Its mission is to distribute regionally, nationally, and internationally information and analysis of commodity markets and agricultural weather.
Agricultural Markets Synthesis
Throughout the week, agricultural commodity markets exhibited a shifting dynamic from early technical bounces to cautious, sideways-to-lower trading driven by weather relief and pre-report positioning.…
by Trent Ford, State Climatologist
ISWS PRI University of Illinois
The first full week of August is in the books. The last month of summer has started a bit cooler and wetter. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 70s in northern Illinois to mid-70s in southern Illinois, between 1 and 4 degrees below normal. High humidity limited how far nighttime temperatures could drop, but it also kept daytime temperature moderate. A few places had daytime highs in the 60s last week,…
Steve Brand – Commercial Ag Specialist
DeKalb County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
Quick synopsis of conditions that will appear in the main feed
After yet another heat wave, we finally received some reprieve with some consistent rain and cooler temperatures. We were briefly entering a drought across most of the region but have come back to normal after this past weekend’s rain.
Most corn fields I saw are between R3 (Milk) and R4 (Dough).…