Thankfully, our weather calmed down this week. Temperatures this week ranged from the high 60s in northern Illinois to the mid-70s in southern Illinois, between 2 and 6 degrees below normal for mid-July. July to date has been 1 to 3 degrees cooler than normal as well. Despite the cooler weather lately, the entire state is still about 50 to 100 growing degree days ahead of average, going back to May 1st.
This week was also quite a bit drier,…
Kathryn Seebruck – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Stephenson County
Soil Conditions: Moderately Wet (soil is damp, standing water may be present in low areas, water bodies are full)
After last week’s storms, the corn that was most heavily impacted (which was minimal) has mostly come back up. Everything still looks very healthy as we continue to receive rainfall. Corn is silking and soybeans are anywhere between R3 and R5. I have seen some rootworm beetles and subsequent silk clipping but not in high amounts.…
Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator
LaSalle County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
LaSalle County experienced a good amount of precipitation this week from the several large storm systems that moved through the area. Luckily, we have not seen any severe damage from these storms. I also have not noticed much standing water in fields. Corn at the IVCC + Extension plots is tasseling or getting close to it. Soybeans are flowering. The IVCC + Extension plots are a little behind in development compared to fields in a lot of LaSalle County. …
Kathryn Seebruck – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Stephenson County
Soil Conditions: Moderately Wet (soil is damp, standing water may be present in low areas, water bodies are full)
Some side-dressing is still occurring on later planted corn, and beans are currently being sprayed. Some are struggling to finish wheat harvest due to the wet weather we keep getting. Not all areas have been affected similarly with rain, but the range is between just enough and too much to the point of creating drowned out low areas;…
Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Grundy County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
This past week I had the opportunity to travel a larger area of northern Illinois. Generally, both corn and soybean crops appear to be in good shape. This comes as somewhat of a surprise when considering what the crop has endured to this point (near midway) in the growing season. Earliest planted crops include R1 corn and R2 soy. In recent trips across the countryside,…
Nicole Haverback – Watershed Outreach Associate
Henry County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
After a few needed storms this week, Henry county received around 2 inches of rain with hail and wind impacting some areas
Figure 1: Hail damage soybeans- Annawan
Figure 2: Hail damage corn – Annawan
Figure 3: Hail damage corn- Annawan
Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator
LaSalle County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Dry (soil is drier than normal,…
Corn rootworm beetles will begin emerging throughout Illinois over the next couple of weeks (we noticed the first few western corn rootworm beetles of the year at our Urbana field site earlier this week). There are a number of things we can learn by keeping track of corn rootworm emergence, particularly in fields that have a history of rootworm problems:
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As high temperatures continue and rainfall remains scarce, many Illinois producers are getting concerned about prospects for the 2024 crops. While it is not very productive to ask ourselves if we should have managed tillage and planting differently, remembering how this year’s crop is faring might inform some of our decisions in the future.
After a planting season that stretched from late March to mid-June and included a substantial amount of replanting, Illinois corn and soybeans are almost completely planted;…
Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator
LaSalle County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
Like much of the state, in LaSalle County it has been hot with only one day in the past week having some scattered showers. There are some scattered thunderstorms in the forecast for next week, though. Overall, crops are still looking good, but the soil is starting to dry out a bit on top. Corn at the IVCC research and demonstration plots is at V5,…
The weed science program at the University of Illinois invites all weed management practitioners to our annual weed science field tour on Wednesday, June 26 at the Department of Crop Sciences field research location known as the Clem Farm, located at 1114 County Road 1200 East, Champaign. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and the tour will start at 9:00 a.m. Preregistration is not required, but please let us know in advance if you will be bringing a large group of participants so we can plan accordingly for meals.…