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The welcome return to Illinois of drier and warmer weather has allowed most of the remaining crops to be planted, and has brought a lot of improvement to the corn crop that struggled through cool, wet weather during the first and third weeks of May. The plants in many fields have gotten back their green color (or have gotten it for the first time) and the early-planted crop is about to enter the period of rapid growth.…

The heavy rains of late April and early May have paused and the weather has warmed enough to allow corn and soybean planting (or replanting) to resume in Illinois, except in the low spots in some places.
With a lot of nitrogen fertilizer applied early, and with rainfall totaling 5 inches or more over most of the state in the two weeks before May 10, many people are worried about N loss and the possible need to apply more nitrogen than planned.…

April has been a little warmer and drier than average so far this year, which has allowed a good start to corn planting and some progress in soybean planting. This is expected to change, with above-normal rainfall and below-normal temperatures over the next 10 days or so, through the first week of May.
It rained on Easter Sunday most places in Illinois, which according to the old saying means that it should rain on each of the seven Sundays after Easter.…

Most corn producers have made plans on how to supply the 2017 Illinois corn crop with nitrogen. But with the stakes high, unusually early N application this past winter and early spring, the delay in fieldwork due to rainfall over the past week, and ongoing pressure to “get nitrogen right,” some might be rethinking plans as the season gets underway.
I presented a webinar on the topic of spring N management on March 30, 2017; the link to the recording can be found at https://ifca.com/.…

On Thursday, March 30 beginning at 9:00 AM, I will present a webinar summarizing our recent N management research, which is funded by the Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council (NREC) using fertilizer checkoff funds.
Topics will include the status of N applied last fall, a summary of results from our N form and timing studies over the past three years, and a look at how well soil N tracked through the spring can tell us if we need more N.…

Relatively dry weather in recent weeks throughout much of Illinois and an early start to fieldwork might provide the unusual opportunity this year of letting us choose corn and soybean planting dates instead of having to wait until it’s dry enough.
There are reports that some corn and possibly some soybeans were planted as early as February this year. The main motivation for such plantings is often the excitement that comes (or doesn’t) from having the crop survive “against all odds.” While that may be satisfying,…

The unseasonably warm and dry weather we have had during February this year has a lot of people applying ammonia, and others considering it. This raises the question of whether or not February is a good time to apply NH3, and also the question about whether or not a nitrification inhibitor (N-Serve) should be included in late-winter applications.
We encourage waiting until soil temperatures are below 50 degrees before making NH3 applications in the fall, and then to use N-Serve to slow conversion of ammonium to nitrate.…

Soil fertility, crop production practices and environmental stewardship will be the foci of a Soil Fertility Seminar on February 28, 2017 in 18 different University of Illinois Extension county offices.
Presentations will be delivered through web conferencing from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Topics and speakers will include:

• Increasing importance of sulfur for field crops–Dr. John Sawyer, Iowa State University
• Illinois NREC: What have we learned?–Dr. Robert Hoeft, Illinois Nutrient Research &

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