As the days begin to shorten and the yellow school buses begin to appear on the country roads, the time is near to harvest the growing crop of 2016. Fields have been progressing nicely in our part of the country and it looks like harvest will begin at least on a limited basis here in August. Our earliest planted fields are just beginning to reach the black layer stage in corn which signals physiologically maturity. The husks are beginning to whiten and the plants are losing their bright green foliage. As the crop is maturing, we are busy working on the equipment that does the harvest work.

All and all the prospects for a bountiful harvest are looking pretty good. A timely planting season was followed by a warm and dry late May and June period. As we began to get dry to the point of despair, the July 4th holiday weekend ushered in what would be an abundance of rain for the month. In fact, the month of July in Illinois ended up as the third wettest on record. As many recall back in 2015 we had the wet June followed by the dry July. For crop growth and development, 2016 has been much more beneficial. Early yield estimates are looking like a strong corn crop for 2016. The bean yields are much harder to gauge so yields are still largely unknown.

We are continuing to test many things in fields in 2016. It has always been important to us to see first-hand what works in our own fields with our own practices. Hybrid varieties, Nitrogen timing and amounts, and fertilizer trails are just a few of the many things we continue to evaluate. Drainage tile appears that it will yet again be a benefit to farms for 2016. We continue to stay very busy with our drainage equipment on our own and landowners farms. If you have any interest in talking about opportunities to improve drainage and unlock yield limiting barriers please do not hesitate to contact us.

We are looking forward to getting started with harvest. It is an exciting and busy time of year. The year’s work is collected and preparations begin for the next crop year. Please stay safe when you meet large equipment on the roads. If you are in our neck of the woods please take time to stop in.