Kathryn Seebruck – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Stephenson County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
Although the entire month of May saw just under an inch of rain in total, the beginning of June has brought some relief with over two inches of rain deposited thus far with more on the way (based on data from the Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program Freeport station –…
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Despite some wet and cold periods in April and May across parts of Illinois, the 2026 corn and soybean crops were planted at a near-normal pace. Soybean planting began early and remained ahead of corn planting throughout the season, with 7% of the soybean crop planted by April 7 (5% above the five-year average for 2021-2025) and 50% planted by May 5. The first NASS report for corn indicated 1% planted by April 5 and 50% planted by May 10.…
The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending June 05, 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
The agricultural grain markets experienced a severe downturn, characterized by corn and soybeans breaking through critical moving averages due to persistent fund liquidations,…
We wrapped up spring and started meteorological summer with some lovely, if a bit drier, weather. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 60s in northern Illinois to the mid-70s in southern Illinois, between 1 and 4 degrees above average. Low humidity allowed daytime temperatures to regularly reach into the upper 80s, while nighttime temperatures cooled well into the 50s. Some of the more impressive nighttime lows this week included 44 in Waukegan and 45 in Normal.…
Steve Brand – Commercial Agronomy Specialist
DeKalb County
Soil Conditions: Moderately Dry (soil is dry, plants may be browning or stressed, water bodies are low)
Another week, more beautiful and perfect weather for outdoor activities. More notably, another week of little to no rain as we continue to progress into an early summer drought. Most of northern Illinois would be considered to be in a D1 moderate drought as of now.…
The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending May 29, 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, the agricultural commodity markets faced volatility driven by geopolitical developments, fluctuating energy prices, and domestic planting progress. Analysts Naomi Blohm,…
Steve Brand – Commercial Ag Specialist
DeKalb County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Dry (soil is drier than normal, plant growth may have slowed)
This will be a quick report as there is not too much to report since last week. Most fields have emerged in both corn and soy. I’ve seen fields for corn varying from about to emerge to V2 pushing V3. Soybeans are in a similar boat between emerging in fields to 2nd trifoliate.…
The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending May 22, 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
The agricultural markets experienced a volatile week marked by risk-on and risk-off trading, heavily influenced by geopolitical news and macroeconomic factors. Curt Kimmel (AgMarket.net) ,…
We had milder weather as we turned the corner in May. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 60s in northern Illinois to the low 70s in southern Illinois, between 2 and 4 degrees above normal. Despite a bit more warmth this week, low humidity allowed nighttime temperatures to regularly drop into the 40s, including lows of 38 degrees in Decatur and 39 in Barrington. May temperatures to date have been 1 to 3 degrees below average statewide.…
Steve Brand – Commercial Agronomy Specialist
DeKalb County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Dry (soil is drier than normal, plant growth may have slowed)
Overall, planting is close to finished across more of northern Illinois. Field work over the last 2 weeks has been non-stop, and most fields I saw were either planted or just beginning to emerge, whether that was corn or soybeans. After a wild and wet April, May has been very dry and unusually cool,…