The corn is starting to change color, and May-planted is just about to black layer. Some soybean fields started to turn this week. We were very wet in early August but can find some cracks in the ground again now.
Crops continue to move along. There is some premature death in soybeans where there was water damage early in the season. As a generalization, most of the April-planted corn has black-layered and the May-planted corn will be in another week. There could be a few corn fields harvested in the …
Another beautiful August week. Plenty of moisture from the past weekend’s storms and three-tenths on Wednesday night. The good weather conditions we had for Liberty applications in late June has made walking beans easier this year, even though the weeds were a little taller than we would hav…
Very wet this past week, with over 5 inches of rain on Friday and Saturday. That puts us close to 10 inches for August so far. Kernel counts on corn look good but not as good as last year. Also, there is more water damage in the low areas than last year. On the plus side there is very little…
Joe Stuckel and his wife Amber, along with their six young children, farm near Buckley in Iroquois County. They are first generation farmers, growing corn and soybeans.
This week started out dry again, but we were blessed with a very welcome 3.9 inches Friday night through Saturday night. Most of the area received over 2 inches. Crops look good. We'll know more in a week or so once we can get better idea of how pollination/early grain fill went for the corn.
Another dry week but much cooler and less humid. Water damage is still evident in spots, but otherwise the crops look good. Lots of fungicide applications have happened this past week.
A very hot and dry week, although there were scattered showers and thunderstorms around the area. We were gone for the week, and when we got home the corn and beans have grown a lot with most corn fields tasseling. I would say the crops look as well as they have since early June when we star…
Another warm week with scattered rain showers. Soybeans replanted in ponds are emerging. Last week's excellent conditions for glufosinate were a blessing, as it appears waterhemp is dying even though many were 2 feet tall due to rain delays. Some commercial applicators are still trying to ca…
Finally a break from the rain this week with very sunny, hot and humid weather. Corn and beans in well-drained areas are dark green and growing fast, but damage from saturated soils is still very much in evidence in the low-lying areas. Finally have an opportunity to finish post spraying bea…
More rain this week continues to make post herbicide applications a challenge. Crops look good where drainage is adequate, but there are large ponds where crops are dead or damaged. We are getting to the point where we may not be able to replant areas that have died. Wheat in the area looks …
What a change a week can bring. What started as a very welcome seven-tenths on the morning of Saturday, June 6, has turned into 6 to 8 inches of rain across our area in less than a week. The first 4 inches went into the ground very well but 2-inches-plus on Thursday night into Friday morning…
We've had warmer and sunny weather this week, and the corn and beans are making the most of it. The corn is maybe a little smaller than this time last year, but stands are very good. Almost all fields in the area are emerged at this point. Conditions have been great for herbicide spraying an…
Four-tenths of rain at the beginning of the week slowed down field work, but planting is complete for the most part. Sidedress nitrogen is picking back up at the end of the week. We did have to spot in a few acres of early-planted beans from the frost event on May 7. Overall crops are develo…
Finally got some warm weather to finish up planting. We finished up midweek, and I would say most others in our immediate area are finished as well. We are evaluating frost damage on soybeans from May 7 and finding some thin stands in small areas. Windy conditions continue to make opportunit…
Slow but steady progress this week with several interruptions for light rains. Emerged crops still look pale with the cool and sometimes cloudy conditions. Terminating cover crops has been a challenge due to cool temperatures. Lord willing, we will finish planting early this coming week.
Joe Stuckel and his wife Amber, along with their six young children, farm near Buckley in Iroquois County. They are first generation farmers, growing corn and soybeans.
Joe Stuckel and his wife Amber, along with their six young children, farm near Buckley in Iroquois County. They are first generation farmers, growing corn and soybeans. They also raise cattle marketed as freezer beef. In addition to farming, Stuckel has a seed business and does some custom s…
Not much activity this week as 1 to 2 inches of rain fell on Monday. Some field work and planting resumed Friday and Saturday. Corn and beans that were planted in the second week of April have emerged with good stands. Some emerged corn looks pale but should recover nicely if we get some sun…
We are still in need of a CropWatcher for this district. Call 773-234-9004 or email crystal.reed@lee.net if you are interested in volunteering. Thank you
We had a pretty good planting season — got rained out for a couple weeks but got quite a bit planted in during April. The crop ended up doing well despite the lack of rain in August, September and October. Harvest went well. We worked every day and only had a few days when we couldn’t work d…
Pretty well finished up with everything. A lot of fall tillage got done this past week and people are doing a lot of maintenance jobs. Anhydrous applications are going on as well.
Things are starting to wrap up — more farmers are getting done all the time. Fields are getting fewer and far between. I have seen some anhydrous tanks going down the road.
Nice rain on Saturday afternoon. Everyone was hitting the corn pretty hard last week, expecting more to be finishing up this week. People are starting to do fall tillage, and a lot of fertilizer is being spread.
Last week was a big go week on corn, with moistures under 20% on what we’ve done. Beans are 98% done — only a few fields here and there are still unharvested.
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