cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

Steve Brand – Commercial Ag Specialist
DeKalb County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
Cooler and wet conditions have moved in across northern Illinois. Light rain and heavy morning dews have propagated some late season disease in both corn and soybeans as we start to enter wide-scale senescence and harvest.
Soybeans in McHenry and DeKalb counties are producing large amounts of pods, as well as filling those pods very well. I expect many soybean fields to have high yields.…

The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending September 4, 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, agricultural markets experienced multi-year highs driven by strong demand, geopolitical friction, and weather-related supply concerns, before softening ahead of the holiday weekend.…

Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Grundy County
Soil Conditions: Near Normal
Entering September an intense shift in weather as a “heat dome” became established in Northeast Illinois. While fields near the Wisconsin state line received precipitation, most areas did not. The ninety degrees plus days provided ample Growing Degree Days (GDDs) for crops finishing grain fill. On lighter soils the temperatures are causing a water deficit reflected by the wilting/yellowing plants.…

The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending August 28, 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
Agricultural markets experienced a significant late-summer rally driven by supply-side reductions, escalating geopolitical tensions, and robust global demand. Wheat led the broader grain complex higher—surging as much as 45 cents in a limit move—due to intensifying military conflicts and export infrastructure disruptions in the Russia-Ukraine Black Sea corridor.…