According to the U-S Drought Monitor, Champaign, Coles, Douglas, Moultrie and Piatt Counties are experiencing extreme drought. The rest of Illinois is experiencing abnormally dry to severe drought conditions. This week, our Weather Realness podcast is diving into the definition and its effects on agriculture and trees. Host Maddie Stover talked with Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford, including the deficit in rain that we’re currently facing. LISTEN TODAY (Oct 20) at 2:30pm central on ...| farmdoc
The 2025 Farm Assets Conference is scheduled for Friday, December 12 at the Agri-Center in Bloomington, Illinois. The doors open at 7:30 a.m. central. The program starts at 8:00 a.m. Registration for 2025 is $80 per person through noon December 8 and $100 thereafter. Media and Extension personnel may register for free. CLICK TO REGISTER and for complete Farm Assets Conference details. You may also want to register for the 2025 Illinois Farm Economic Summits.…| farmdoc
You can also read this article in Portuguese and Spanish April temperatures were warmer than normal in Illinois, making the January-April period one of the warmest on record. April was also wetter than normal, and as rains have continued into May, questions about nitrogen (N) losses continue to increase. This concern is greater for fall-applied N, but warm soil temperatures and wet soils have some people talking about the possible need for more N to replace what might have been lost so far.…| farmdoc
Reagen Tibbs– Commercial Agriculture Educator Logan CountySoil Condition: Moderately Dry (soil is dry, plants may be browning or stressed, water bodies are low) Rains over the last week have been welcome but have not provided the much-needed relief from drought conditions. If anything, the rain has slowed the harvest progress for many across Logan County. While on the outside rows, some fields appear ready to harvest, there are still many green plants deep inside the fields.…| farmdoc
Introduction Red crown rot (RCR) of soybean is a disease caused by the fungal pathogen Calonectria ilicicola. This pathogen was first identified on peanuts in the United States in 1965 [1]. Since then, C. ilicicola has been found to cause disease in a wide variety of hosts across the world. It was first confirmed on soybeans in 1968 in Japan [2] and subsequently identified on soybeans in the United States in 1972 [3] in North Carolina.…| farmdoc
We slipped back into summer this week. Average temperatures ranged from the mid-60s in northern Illinois to the mid-70s in southern Illinois, 4 to 8 degrees above normal. The lack of humidity and extremely dry conditions allowed daytime high temperatures to push well into the 90s this week. Some of the more impressive highs this week included 99 degrees in Alton and Decatur. by Trent Ford, State Climatologist ISWS PRI University of Illinois This week was also very dry yet again across the sta...| farmdoc
Steve Brand– Commercial Agriculture Specialist DeKalb CountySoil Condition: Near Normal We have had a bit of a mini heat wave here in the middle of September as temperatures returned to near normal compared to the previous two weeks of cooler weather. The warmer temperatures are helping the corn and soybeans progress along through maturity as we are a bit behind the rest of the state harvest and maturity-wise. As the rest of the state is entering into some more substantial droughts,…| farmdoc
You can also read the article in Portuguese and Spanish While August rainfall is the “soybean maker,” July rainfall is also important to the podsetting process that sets up yield potential. July rainfall was plentiful overall in Illinois, but varied from an inch or two less than normal in parts of southern Illinois to more than twice normal amounts in western and northwestern Illinois. In contrast, August rainfall was less than normal over all but the northern edge of the state,…| farmdoc
Another beautiful weather week in Illinois as we transition from summer to fall. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 60s to low 70s, between 1 and 7 degrees below normal. by Trent Ford, State Climatologist ISWS PRI University of Illinois Although we didn’t see nighttime lows dip into the 30s yet, we did get 40 degrees in Stockton and 42 in Monmouth. The cool end to summer was welcome after an extremely hot and humid season.…| farmdoc
Russ Higgins – Commercial Agriculture Educator Grundy CountySoil Conditions: Moderately Dry (soil is dry, plants may be browning or stressed, water bodies are low) Harvest is on the horizon, maturity and drydown will likely be expedited with the return of forecast warmer temperatures. Looking back 150-170 days and evaluating the current growing season, most crop stressors were environmental (dry or drought conditions) or related to plant disease (primarily in the corn crop).…| farmdoc
Steve Brand– Commercial Agriculture Specialist DeKalb CountySoil Condition: Near Normal Cooler temperatures have arrived this fall (late summer really) as we move through the waiting period of the growing season for corn and soybeans. Temperature averages in the 70s and low 80s have brought much relief after a very hot stretch across Northern IL. Nearly every corner of Illinois north of I-80 is at normal rain and water levels as down state begins to enter into a slight drought,…| farmdoc
by Trent Ford, State Climatologist ISWS PRI University of Illinois Another beautiful weather week in Illinois as we transition from summer to fall. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 60s to low 70s, between 1 and 7 degrees below normal. Although we didn’t see nighttime lows dip into the 30s yet, we did get 40 degrees in Stockton and 42 in Monmouth. The cool end to summer was welcome after an extremely hot and humid season.…| farmdoc
Japanese beetles (Fig. 1) have been arriving throughout Illinois over the last couple of weeks, and are becoming pretty conspicuous in some areas. Our crops are well behind their usual progress when Japanese beetle emergence occurs, which could impact scouting and management decision making. Several of my colleagues recently wrote an in-depth article on the history, distribution and management of this pest1; you can read the full open-access article here. Some notes on management follow by cr...| farmdoc
Steve Brand – Commercial Agriculture Specialist DeKalb County Soil Conditions: Near Normal Conditions over the past 2 weeks have reverted back to being dry with temperatures in the upper 80’s to low 90’s. The corn and soybeans have been progressing very quickly with the increased Growth Degree Units and just enough moisture. As we look at the drought map most of Northern IL remains in the D0 drought with a small area south of Chicago in a D1.…| farmdoc
Emily Hansen – Commercial Agriculture Educator LaSalle County Soil Conditions: Mildly Wet (soil is wetter than normal, local vegetation is healthy) The heat and humidity has finally broken today after what feels like a very miserable few weeks. Over the past week rainfall in LaSalle, Bureau, Marshall, and Putnam counties has been sporadic, with some areas seeing nearly 6 inches and others seeing less than an inch. Crops in areas that received less rainfall are still looking a little heat st...| farmdoc
Southern rust of corn, caused by the fungus Puccinia polysora, has recently been confirmed in counties of Indiana and Kentucky bordering southern Illinois. While not yet confirmed in Illinois this season, its proximity makes it important to stay alert, scout actively, and be prepared to manage the disease if it arrives. Recognizing Southern Rust Southern rust produces small, orange to light-brown pustules typically found on the upper surface of corn leaves, often concentrated in the upper can...| farmdoc
