Hello Great Heart Customers and thank you for your business!

Much of the corn in central Illinois and Indiana got off to a good start with most planted in late April and early May. The relatively drier conditions helped establish high stand counts, but by June 5th I actually saw corn rolling on good soils. However, moving just a county away saw huge rainfall totals all spring, and southern Illinois certainly falls into that category. It has had a huge impact on planting progress and current crop condition. Since June 7th, it has poured everywhere! The crop stood the storms remarkably well and no doubt corn rootworms struggled with the drenching. Nitrogen loss due to leaching will be significant in some areas and could affect yields and late season plant integrity. There is also a difference in early growth among hybrids in the test plots. And once again HT-7238 (the DroughtGard® Double Pro hybrid) leads the way with fast emergence, size and dark green color. As a reminder, it started out that way last year too and ended the season at the top of the yield chart! The Illinois/Indiana corn crop is rated at 18% excellent, 57% good, 21% fair, and 4% poor to very poor. Soybean planting began shortly after corn, but due to the varying rainfall it has not yet ended, especially in southern Illinois. There was a little replant early due to beans sprouting in limited moisture but lacking enough to sustain growth and finally dying out, but that was very rare. With the higher recent rain amounts, we are beginning to see some fields yellowing as the root nodules just can’t fixate nitrogen.

These same conditions also cause bean fields to grow much slower than usual. Soybeans really don’t like saturated soils, especially when young. With some sunshine and drier conditions, the beans will recover quickly and grow rapidly, but so will the weeds. Custom applicators are concerned about weed control on fields that haven’t had their intended post herbicide sprayed yet. If you are considering a herbicide change for next year you may want to attend the University of Illinois Weed Science Field Research Tour. For $10 it’s a good way to see someone else be the guinea pig. Check it out at http://bulletin.ipm.illinois.edu/?p=3197. The Illinois/Indiana bean crop is rated at 12% excellent, 58% good, 25% fair, and 5% poor to very poor. The heavy rains and wind have put some wheat on the ground which causes harvest issues and slows drying. That said, if we get drier weather for the rest of June, yields and test weights may still impress. Many areas avoided scab better than I expected for a wet spring. I’ve also seen some impressive tillering in some fields this year. When GHT-940 is nearly ripe it still has more ability to hold test weight when rained on. This advantage compared to other varieties may come in to play this year. The new GHT-930 shares that ability, and new GHT-942 comes in with a high yield potential. The Illinois/Indiana wheat crop is rated at 10% excellent, 51% good, 31% fair, and 8% poor to very poor.

Thanks and talk with you soon!

Nels Kasey
Central & Southern Illinois & Indiana