La Salle County crop and rainfall report: Recent rainfall has crops ‘looking good’

The summer crop and rainfall report, which features crop condition and rainfall updates from La Salle County farmers, is published regularly during the growing season.

This is the sixth report of the summer.

The following report covers June 26 to July 2 and is provided with assistance from the La Salle County Farm Bureau.

David Hall, Serena: We missed out on some big rains this past week but ended up receiving 0.6 inches total for the week from a couple storms skirting past. Earliest corn is 6-7 feet tall and will be tasseled next week. Soybeans have responded well to the rain we have received and will come close to shading 30-inch rows in another week. Wheat harvest is still at least a week away in this area. Activities for the week included mowing ditches and prepping equipment for fall. USDA acreage report showed an unexpected extra 4 million acres of corn to be planted, which shocked the corn market. Soybeans jumped up nicely on smaller estimated stocks though. Hope everyone can attend the La Salle County 4-H and Junior Fair June 13-16. Have a safe week!

Ken Beck, Mendota: Had a really nice rain up here in the northwest part of the county varying from an inch to 2 inches of rain. The rain really turned things around on the crop conditions. Crops conditions are looking good at the moment. We are waiting around for the fungicide treatment on the soybeans and then insecticide and then pollination. I received 1.5 inches of rain for the week.

David Myer, Marseilles: I received the largest rain event in almost 7 weeks totaling 1.1 inches, which the crops responded to, and the corn looked better for a few days. USDA reported last week that US farmers planted record number of acres, which resulted in falling corn prices both old crop and new. The real question is we have supposedly more acres but what will the yields be as trend line yields really don’t look too promising even after one nice rain event. Wheat harvest is very close but now so is the high daily humidity, which makes the wheat slower drying and rain in the forecasts every three days doesn’t allow much of a harvest window for cutting and baling hay. We still need rain every week now for the next few weeks as we’re living on the edge and corn pollination is about to start with the early planting dates this year. The La Salle County 4-H Fair is July 13-16 get out and enjoy the evening events and check out the kid’s projects they’ve brought to town.

Bill Gray, Tonica/Lostant: Last week I received 0.9 inches of much needed rain. Corn fields have grown very well despite not getting much rain the last few weeks. Most fields were shoulder to head high by the Fourth of July. So far insect pressure in corn has been minimal. Most soybean fields have been sprayed for weeds and are looking pretty good. Japanese beetles have been feeding on some plants next to grassy areas and need to be watched closely as they may need to be controlled. Some hay was cut for the second time but without much rain the last few weeks it looked pretty short. It looks like wheat will be harvested soon in my area. Seeing some antler growth on some of the local whitetail bucks and still enjoying the trail cam pictures of does with fawns. We are doing maintenance and cleaning planting equipment to get it put away when we are not watering gardens or fruit trees. Have a good week and be safe.

Ken Bernard, Grand Ridge: Well, what a change in weather, hard to believe I am reporting this amount of rainfall. 2.5 inches for the week. Mostly fell on Saturday evening through Sunday mid-morning, the first and second of July. We were very thankful we did not receive any bad wind or hail in this rain event. The early planted corn should start tasseling this week, and the soybeans look altogether different with the rain. The wheat is very close to be harvested in the area, some have already combined it. We were blessed here with this rain. The lawnmowers will need to come out of the garages again as the grass has already greened up. Not much else to say here, have a great week.

Geoffrey Janssen, Rutland: What a difference a week makes, the grass in my yard is actually starting to turn green again. I received 2.9 inches of rain since the last report. The sweetcorn started tasseling last week. Corn and soybeans have responded greatly to the recent rainfall, overall weather conditions have improved. Lack of smoke from Canada also has helped in crop development with more sunlight being available to plants.

Rainfall (in inches):

David Hall 0.6

Ken Beck 1.5

David Myer 1.1

Bill Gray 0.9

Ken Bernard 2.5

Geoffrey Janssen 2.9