Tom is a co-owner of Leeper Family Farms LLC which in Decatur in Macon County. They raise corn, soybeans, wheat and hay. Tom farms with his son Evan Leeper and son-in-law Nate Doty. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science from Illinois State University. He is a CCA and sells seed for Wyffels and Brevant. He also raises cattle for his freezer beef business.

Spring has sprung and the bell has rung for planting to begin for 2026. We started planting beans April 11 and managed five days of work until we received 0.7 of an inch of rain on Wednesday night. More beans are going in the ground than corn at this point. We switched a planter over to corn and got one field planted on Wednesday. We might have found a dry field by Friday afternoon, but with rain in the forecast and cool temps coming we caught our mowing up instead. We received 1.4 inches of rain Friday evening. It’s a waiting game now, but when dry weather returns planting will be in full swing. Strong winds have hampered spraying of herbicides. Enjoy the spring and be safe out there everyone!

This past week has had planters going full speed ahead with corn and beans. It’s been difficult getting many days when winds died down to make herbicide applications. In our area, more bean acres are in than corn. However, corn will get the focus now as we near May 1. Soil conditions have been excellent, and initial emergence shows great stands. Currently we are facing strong storm potential, which has kept planters in the shed until we see the outcome. Be safe, everyone!

This past week began with a significant rain event. Here at Decatur, we had 1.6 inches, but south of town it was over 3 inches. This, combined with cool temps, made for zero planting and slow crop growth. What has emerged has excellent stands. The weather looks to improve in the upcoming week, although some showers are in the forecast. My best estimate of progress is beans at 75% planted and corn at 50%. Those numbers will change quickly if the weather allows work to resume. It has been a very windy spring, which has hampered herbicide applications. Our wheat will get fungicide applied this week via drone. New technology continues to find its way to the farm!

Another week of mostly sitting as we continue on this weather roller coaster ride this spring. We were able to stick in some corn on May 4, but then showers arrived that evening, then on and off the rest of the week. Next week’s forecast shows good weather, so look for planting to ramp up then. Crops are growing slowly, but they clearly need some warm temps to get them going. Preemergence herbicides have worked well as they’ve been activated by the showers. We hope to wrap planting up this week if all goes well.

It was a busy week as the weather allowed us to play catch up with planting. Most of the rest of the corn and beans that needed to be planted went in the ground. We finished up this week and got started sidedressing some of our early-planted corn. There’s much to get done, but the weather looks rainy for a while. One way or another, it all gets done sometime.

It was a very slow week due to the rain we received on Monday. With our crop planted, we’ve turned our attention to catching our mowing up, preparing to sidedress nitrogen, and getting some hay made. It looks like the weatherman has cleared Memorial Day weekend and a few days thereafter, so I believe field work will be active again. Crops have benefited from some rainfall to help with emergence, but the general consensus is it’s time to get the crop completed. If the weather holds, most everything will be in the ground after this weekend.

We have moved into a drier weather pattern, at least temporarily. This has allowed us to make good progress with fieldwork. We have been sidedressing nitrogen, applying postemergence herbicides to corn and beans and making the first cutting of hay. This dry time will help crops to establish roots. At this point in the growing season crops look good and are starting to take off!