cropCENTRAL | Field Crop Production Resources

The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending August 14, 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 commodity markets were primarily driven by the release of USDA’s August Crop Production and WASDE reports, escalating geopolitical turmoil in the Black Sea and Middle East,…

Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator
Grundy County
Soil Conditions: Moderately Wet (soil is damp, standing water may be present in low areas, water bodies are full)
A very active weather pattern across northeast Illinois that spawned tornados, a derecho, and significant rainfall and flooding across the region. In corn fields, foliar leaf diseases are now more easily detected, including Southern rust. A Southern rust report was received by Dr.…

The following is a summary of the WILLAg.org content from the work week ending August 7, 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 commodity markets exhibited a shifting dynamic from early technical bounces to cautious, sideways-to-lower trading driven by weather relief and pre-report positioning.…

 
by Trent Ford, State Climatologist
ISWS PRI University of Illinois
The first full week of August is in the books. The last month of summer has started a bit cooler and wetter. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 70s in northern Illinois to mid-70s in southern Illinois, between 1 and 4 degrees below normal. High humidity limited how far nighttime temperatures could drop, but it also kept daytime temperature moderate. A few places had daytime highs in the 60s last week,…