The Field Report

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 again, but I may do some beans,” Trent observed.

Trent was spared from last week’s storms in Illinois. Illinois has now had 170 tornadoes in 2026, the all-time record for Illinois, and, for 2026, more than twice any other state. Trent reported some corn blown over, “but it straightened up, so it’s not reportable.” Trent was grateful to have been spared serious damage, unlike areas south of his operations, such as Lovington and Arthur, where damage was severe.
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Trent has not had problems with the widely reported fertilizer shortages. “It’s just more expensive, so is fuel,” he noted.
The old saying about corn being “knee-high by the Fourth of July” will be exceeded this year due to the generally good growing weather and improved genetics. It will be shoulder-high in many central Illinois fields. Most soybean fields have not yet had their rows “grow shut.”