Months of wet weather have taken a toll on much of the 2015 Illinois corn and soybean crops. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, only 56 percent of corn acres and 50 percent of soybean fields are rated as “good” or “excellent.”
While yields are likely down from last year, in terms of growth stage, corn and soybeans have nearly caught up to where they would typically be at this time of the season. Thirty-eight percent of corn has reached the dent stage, just behind the five-year average of 41 percent. Eighty-one percent of soybeans are setting pods, just behind the normal of 83 percent.
Statewide, precipitation averaged just .52 inches, .4 inches below normal, leaving 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork, and farmers continued to literally make hay while the sun shined. The third cutting of alfalfa is now 59 percent complete, a major jump from just 38 percent last week.