Wild And Windy Winter Weekend
Trent Brandenburg and family endured a near miss yesterday as a tornado touched down a few miles from their home place. Tornadoes are a rare occurrence in December, but a “bomb cyclone” ripped through central Illinois yesterday. Houses were unroofed in Long Creek, a village a few miles southwest of Trent’s. The temperature plunged from a record-high 69 at 2 p.m. yesterday (28 December 2025) to 12 above this morning, with 45 m.p.h. wind gusts providing a “feels like” 18 below.
Trent is happy to have been spared the wind damage, but like most central Illinois farm operators, he is not happy about corn and soybean market prices. He hopes Santa got his letter, but being the pragmatic farmer he is, Trent is being careful about planning his inputs for next year. The Brandenburg family wishes you and yours a happy and prosperous New Year. If you are a landowner wanting to be more prosperous, make a New Year’s resolution to talk with Trent.
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 [...]