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 moisture ranges from 40% to 17% and he doesn’t want to pay the elevator to dry it. “Soybeans are not ready yet; they are still green,” he continued. So Trent has just “cut the corners,” harvesting the very corner of his cornfields at rural crossroads to provide better visibility (and safety) for motorists approaching the crossroad. Trent estimates he has harvested “about 4%” of his crops so far this year.
Trent got his best yields, thus far, from corn planted in early April. He is happy with the test weights he has seen. Rain is predicted for later this week (18-19 September), but not a significant amount. The Illinois State Climatologist reports the driest August on record in Mt Vernon (0.09 inches), Centralia (0.09 inches), and Charleston (0.03 inches), and the second driest in Springfield (0.16 inches) and Effingham (0.32 inches). Northern Illinois was much wetter.
More from The Field Report
From Drought To Ponding And Replanting
In barely months, Trent's challenges have gone from extreme drought to repeated ponding and replanting. Trent has replanted some corn and soybeans twice, only to have the ponding return yet again. "I don't think I will try to replant corn [...]
Corn And Soybean Planting Done, Some Germinated, More To Come
Trent Brandenburg is happy to have completed his corn and soybean planting by the 15th of May. "It's slow," he said, commenting on the germination delay by the recent cool temperatures. Moderately heavy rains the last few days have caused [...]
Worked Some Fields, With A Sunny Day Could Begin Planting
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 [...]