Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator
LaSalle/Putnam County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
Fields in LaSalle County have dried out a bit over the last week, with only minimal rainfall over the weekend. At the IVCC + Extension Research and Demonstration Plots corn is nearing V5 and soy V1-2. Other fields scouted in LaSalle County have V6 corn and V2-3 soybeans. One soybean field that was scouted showed signs of root rot, potentially Phytophthora.…
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Dry conditions in northern and central parts of Illinois allowed for a relatively early start to planting this year; the first NASS report of planting was soybeans at 1% on April 6. Soybean planting stayed ahead of corn planting through April, with 22% of soybeans and 16% of corn planted by April 27. By May 4, planting progress was nearly even—33% for soybeans and 32% for corn.…
Kathryn Seebruck – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Winnebago County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
Tuesday’s storms and Wednesday’s rain resulted in over an inch of rain being supplied to the area, which have helped to supply some needed soil moisture.
The fields referenced in today’s report have experienced some hail damage, though the plants will fortunately grow out of it as the damage was not too severe and there is enough healthy tissue to enable the plant to overcome the damage.…
The University of Illinois Plant Clinic is an Extension program located in the Department of Crop Sciences. For more information, please see our website: https://extension.illinois.edu/plant-clinic or contact us at 217-333-0519.
Wheat Samples: We have received 3 wheat samples so far in 2025, all from southern Illinois. Bacterial leaf streak, Septoria leaf blotch, and thrips were found on the samples from Marion County, while anthracnose, Fusarium head blight, Septoria leaf blotch, stripe rust, and thrips were found on the sample from Jackson County.…
Kathryn Seebruck – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Stephenson County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
Across the county, corn is between VE and about V4 while soybeans are yet to emerge or at about V1. The rainfall received over the past couple weeks has been well received – the crop looks healthy and green. Surprisingly given the rain, there aren’t yet any significant weed flushes, but scouting is recommended to identify any moving forward.…
by Trent Ford, State Climatologist
ISWS, PRI, University of Illinois
We had quite a busy weather week. Average temperatures range from the low 50s in northern Illinois to the mid-70s in southern Illinois, between 1 and 4 degrees above normal. Nighttime low temperatures regularly dipped into the 40s statewide and even got down to the high 30s in places like Waukegan and McHenry. May average temperatures to date have been within 1 degree of normal statewide.…
Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator
LaSalle County
Soil Conditions: Moderately Wet (soil is damp, standing water may be present in low areas, water bodies are full)
It has been a wet and chilly week following the hot, dry weather last week. LaSalle County saw nearly 5 inches of rainfall, which has led to ponding in some of the more low-lying areas of fields. Nearly all corn acres are planted, with most corn around stage V1-V2.…
Event Date: May 23, 2025
Event Time: 3:00 – 6:00 PM
Location: Riggs Beer Company
1901 South High Cross Rd. Urbana, IL
Join us for a mix of learning and happy hour at Riggs Beer Company located at 1901 South High Cross Rd. Urbana, IL. This event is for anyone curious about small grains, including wheat, barley, rye, triticale, oats, and kernza. Demonstration plots are located on-site next to the brewery. The small grains breeder from Virginia will be joining us as a special guest to talk about barley varieties adapted to Illinois.…
The second full week in May brought summer heat to the Midwest. Average temperatures this week ranged from the high 50s in northern Illinois to the low 70s in southern Illinois, between 2 and 8 degrees above normal. Significant early season heat late in the week was noteworthy, as temperatures reached into the low to mid 90s statewide. Combined with high humidity, heat index values approached the triple digits. Thursday’s high of 93 degrees broke the previous May 15th record at O’Hare Airport,…
Steve Brand – Commercial Agriculture Specialist
Stephenson County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Dry (soil is drier than normal, plant growth may have slowed)
Scouting was done in Stephenson County. Overall, the field conditions are very dry with May only bringing 1.1″ across the area so far. Temperatures have been in the upper 70s and low 80s this week with lows in the upper 40s and 50s. There are some potential rain events coming in the next week to add some moisture back into the soil.…