Weather

In a year when expectations, demand and price for soybeans are all high, the Illinois soybean crop may not meet those great expectations everywhere.

Variability is one way to describe the 2022 growing season. “It’s really the story of variability because it depends on where you’re at and if you were lucky enough to catch some rains,” said Jared Goplen, agronomy manager at Wyffels Hybrids.

Bill Gates says the global hunger crisis is so immense that food aid cannot fully address the problem. What’s also needed, Gates argues, are the kinds of innovations in farming technology that he has long funded to try to reverse the crisis documented in a new report.

Adverse growing conditions are among the concerns noted in several Federal Reserve districts as reported in the latest Beige Book.

The 60th annual Farm Science Review came to a close at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio, after welcoming 114,589 visitors during the course of the three-day event and showcasing the latest in agricultural innovations.

You know it’s dry when a deep taprooted plant like grazing chicory has drooping leaves and I have quite a few of those in my pasture. Since I last wrote, I’ve had only 2.2 inches of rain. Looking backward, I should have planted my winter cover crop Aug. 3 instead of Aug. 23.

Happy September! Always seems like the summer goes by so fast. It is nice to have a little cooler evenings. Great weather to sit out on the porch and enjoy. My Shetland lambs are growing nicely. Their color patterns are really starting to be vibrant.

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. As I write this, we’ve had about 3 inches of rain and the high temp today and tomorrow is 60 degrees. It’s a kind of a preview for upcoming attractions. With 80-degree temps yet ahead, there’s still some summer left, but harvest is soon here.

A good — not great — corn crop in central and southern Indiana should finish strong, but concerns about late-season disease pressure are top of mind for some producers.

August has been phenomenal since we have been blessed with weekly rains. We are approaching 8 inches of rain for the month. Yesterday, the farms near DeKalb got two and a half inches of rain and at home we got eight-tenths of an inch.

Mild temperatures in August this year in Illinois followed a heat wave in May, above-average temperatures in June and a cooler July, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

Soil fertility is the base for consistent high yields and profitable production. Ryan Clayton, Pioneer field agronomist in central Iowa, discussed the importance of a good soil health foundation during a Forward Thinking Farmer webinar.

In a recent poll of 500 corn farmers, more than half said they are dealing with moderate to severe drought stress this season, according to Pioneer. Severe drought stress can cause yield losses up to 50%.

An annual yield survey by First Mid Ag Services estimates McLean County corn to average 209.46 bushels per acre, slightly below the five-year average. Illinois’ top corn-producing county averaged 205.7 bushels per acre last year and 201.8 in 2020.

My how things can change in just one month. I am talking about the weather and subsequent conditions. Every other month has been different all summer. May was wet, then June got fairly dry, then July was extremely wet. Got into August and it has turned really dry.