The Field Report

Trent Brandenburg has “worked a couple of fields, they’re barely ready” after several days of rain last week. “If we get a sunny day tomorrow I could plant some,” Trent continued. The long-standing extreme drought in central Illinois has been reduced to “abnormally dry” by recent rains. Trent observes that his drain tiles are running, so he believes he has enough moisture in the upper soil for germination. “I don’t know about the subsoil, though,” he added.

Asked if his corn and beans were up yet, Trent repeated the classic farm quip, “Yeah, up in the machine shed.” The timing of planting is a delicate balance between the date on the calendar, the soil moisture and soil temperature, and the near-term weather forecast. Trent’s years of experience help him judge which field to work now, and which needs to dry out some more for optimum tillage. He will balance all these factors to optimize his planting operations for a healthy start to his crops.