The high temperatures across the corn belt, coupled with the lack of rainfall in some of the states east of the Mississippi River has farmers concerned. Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford has this explanation of evapotranspiration under high temperature and high humidity conditions.…
Nicole Haverback – Watershed Outreach Associate
Henry County
Corn stages range from VE- V7, with bean stages similar. Most corn herbicide applications are complete, and side dress nitrogen is almost completed. Little crop response has been noted, and corn is looking good but could use a drink.
Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Grundy County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
Sunshine and warmer weather are accelerating crop and weed growth.…
Kathryn Seebruck – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Stephenson County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
With the significant rainfall the area saw beginning a couple weeks ago (> 2.6 inches between May 21 and 28), plus almost another inch of rain between June 1 and now, corn is beginning to show signs of N deficiency. Some fields are showing areas of stunted, light green plants, and some are exhibiting uneven emergence.…
Although April-May rainfall exceeded normal amounts in Illinois by up to 50 percent in some areas, and average temperatures have exceeded normal by several degrees, the weather record fails to capture what the 2024 planting season actually looked like. Planting in parts of the state was nearly complete by early May, while in other places, many acres remain to be planted going into June.
Planting began early, with 1 percent of both corn and soybeans planted in Illinois by the end of March.…
Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator
LaSalle County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
We have had intermittent showers over the past week, so there has been a lot of opportunity for farmers to finish planting. The vast majority of fields in LaSalle County have been planted and have seedling emergence. Corn is ranging in development from VE to V4. Soybeans are ranging from VE to V1.
Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Grundy County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal,…
Kathryn Seebruck – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Ogle County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
Dry conditions the past few days have allowed many to catch up on planting, with most farmers in the area finished or close to finished. Corn is at about the V2-V3 stage, and soybeans are in the VC stage or still have yet to emerge. Some replants have occurred due to soil crusting.…
Carl Zulauf, an agricultural economist emeritus from The Ohio State University, recently spoke with Todd Gleason University of Illinois Extension farm broadcaster about the age of U.S. farmers.
Zulauf’s farmdoc Daily article, titled “Age of U.S. Farmers: Not a Problem” challenges the common perception that an aging farmer population signifies trouble for American agriculture.
Dispelling the Myth of a Farmer Aging Crisis
Zulauf acknowledges that farmers are, on average, older than the general population.…
Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator
LaSalle County
Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy)
Some growers were able to take advantage of the nice weather over the weekend and get out in the field. Most corn that was planted earlier is at VE-V1, and soybeans are at VE-VC. There is minimal standing water, but fields remain fairly wet.
Figure 1: Left: soy; Right: corn
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Black cutworms have been observed in traps across the state for the past couple of weeks. Several counties have reported significant moth flights (9 or more moths over a 2-night span). We can use the date of the significant flight to predict potential cutting dates based on degree day predictions.
Based on trap catches in late April and May, many counties in Illinois may start observing feeding, including cutting, as early as this week (Figure 1).…
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.…