Dry Weather Hastens Harvest
September in central Illinois was one-to-three-inches short of average rainfall. Trent Brandenburg took full advantage of the natural drydown and good field conditions to get his crops from the field to the bin. Trent has completed his soybean harvest. He estimated “about three days” to complete his corn harvest (from Friday, October 25, 2024). Trent described his yields as “good to average.” The “average” fields got a bad start from the wet May, both from delayed planting, and poor growing conditions after germination due to waterlogged soils. Careful crop management helped the plants thrive and produce adequate yields despite the poor start.
Southern Illinois got some heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The central and northern part of Illinois are
in moderate drought; severe drought in the northwest 4-5 counties. The soil moisture measurements in Champaign showed record high levels (wet) in May, then dropped to record low (dry) levels at the 8-inch depth in July and today.
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 [...]