Crops Look Good!!
June 2015 Farm Report
Trent Brandenburg is happy with the early performance of his corn and soybean crops this year. The corn is a vigorous dark green color and well beyond the old “knee-high-by-Fourth-Of-July” benchmark. Trent thinks the recent rains have helped the soybeans get going.
“The beans now have some color,” Trend said. Trent now is mowing the rapidly-growing grass. He’s waiting for the soil to get dry enough sohe can get into the fields to spray his soybeans with weed control chemicals.
Trent is not planning to use any insecticide or fungicide on his corn and soybeans this year. He doesn’t see that the increased yield will cover the application cost, due to the low market prices. The input costs have not followed the markets down. “We don’t need another big crop to depress the markets,” he said. Trent looks for larger yields than last year anyway, because this year the production will not be lost from many drowned-out field areas which were non-productive last year.
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 [...]