Beans Look Good, Corn Is OK
Trent Brandenburg is pleased with the development of his soybean crop this year. Timely rains have kept new pods forming and helped to fill out the early-set ones. Although the northern half of Piatt County, the eastern half of DeWitt County, and nearly all of Champaign County, are labelled “Moderate Drought” on today’s (August 25, 2022) Illinois Drought Map, Trent’s land has received enough rain to keep his beans doing well.
Trent’s corn crop is “not as good as last year,” he observed. Late planting due to the wet May, and then a long dry spell in June, took the top off this year’s potential yield. “It’s OK, he added, repeating “just not as good as last year.” June rainfall in central Illinois averaged 3 to 4 inches below normal. Trent has experienced no serious fungus disease attack with the return of rains, due to his timely application of crop protection chemicals earlier this summer.
More from The Field Report
Dry Weather Speeds Harvest
Trent Brandenburg is trying to get his field work done "before it rains". Much of the area Trent farms is in "extreme drought" according to the Illinois Drought Monitor https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?IL map, which is updated every Thursday. The very dry soil [...]
In a Drought, but Corn is Too Wet to Harvest
The current Illinois drought map (11 September) shows severe drought in the northern 40% of Piatt County and moderate drought in the rest of Piatt and adjacent areas of neighboring counties. Trent Brandenburg has barely started harvesting because his corn [...]
Summertime Mowing And Spraying
Trent Brandenburg has been busy mowing his lawn and his roadsides due to the sunshine and frequent rains making his grass grow as well as his corn and soybeans. He has been hiring aerial spraying of fungicides to suppress disease [...]