We Need Rain in Central Illinois
Trent Brandenburg is watching every cloud. If it even gives a few drops of rain, he will want it to back up and try again. Trent sees his corn and soybean plants mostly off to a good start. The fields that did not get ponded by a recednt 5-inch rain are in need of a timely rain now to keep the growth going. His corn plants were planted early enough to get their root systems deep enough to get moisture from below the top layer of soil which is well dried from lack of rain.
This is the problem with the soybean fields Trent had to replant after the ponding drowned out the first seeding. The replanted soybeans are not germinating well due to the very top layer of soil being so dry. The 90-degree temperatures stress plants in dry soil. Today’s (June 1, 2023) Illinois drought map https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?IL shows moderate drought over most of east central Illinois.
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 [...]