Chad Dillenberger is a Monroe County native. His experience spans roles in finance as well as hands-on management as the fourth generation on a 1,600-acre grain farm in Valmeyer. He graduated from Saint Louis University in 2004, majoring in finance, and then spent 15 years with Scottrade (a St. Louis based brokerage firm). He is currently a divisional retail director for Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners and oversees the retail operations for nine John Deere Dealerships across Illinois and Missouri. He has two boys, Henry, 18, and Liam, 15, and has been married to Katie, his high school sweetheart, for 21 years. 

We received nearly perfect rains on Wednesday/Thursday and a little more Saturday morning that will get the prior week’s planting surge started off on the right foot. The western side of the county (bottoms) is nearly done planting, while the farms in the hills on the eastern side of the county made good progress with fertilizer applications, seedbed prep and planting this past week. The beans and corn that were planted in mid- to late-March are up and growing fast with the warm temps. Last but not least, wheat fields across the county have greened up and shook off remnants of the March frost. Some fields are even starting to head out.

Our area found another productive planting window mid-week to get quite a few more acres planted. In all, we are approximately 90% done, with much of those acres emerged and looking uniform. While planting has been going fairly smooth, the regularity of the wind has made spray applications tricky. Most spray rigs were covering as much ground as they could in the early mornings or late evenings to ensure effective applications. The weekend brought some fungicide applications to the wheat — both by air and ground.

We had a rough start to the week with a fairly broad-sweeping storm moving through. While this put the brakes on any remaining planting efforts for the week, it provided some moisture to get the corn and beans up out of the ground and give them a boost to gain some height and find some early nutrients. Luckily, there was no major wind or hail damage from the storms in the county. The latter part of the week did dry out but also cooled off to slightly below normal temperatures. Soybeans took a pause and lost some color with the night temps in the low 40s, but they’re still looking good. A few more fields were planted over the weekend, and the wheat fields have gained uniformity as they fill heads.

The Monroe County area had another quick burst of planting in scattered pockets just ahead of another weather front that moved through Friday night and Saturday morning. Luckily, weather events seem to be spaced just right, allowing some planting and application progress to be made each week. The early corn seems to have found the nitrogen and is advancing through its stages rapidly. Soybeans are still begging for some warmer temps, so they remain a little off-color and slow to gain height. The cooler temps are also causing slow activity on most herbicide applications. Meanwhile, the wheat is loving it and “packing on pounds.”

Last week allowed for another flurry of spraying and planting across the county. It dried out enough for some replants in low-lying areas and creek bottoms. With the warmer weather, we are seeing a flush of weed pressure that has pushed through the preemerge. The early corn is now nearly waist high, fully canopied, and the early beans (15-inch rows) have nearly closed their rows and regained their color as they start fixing their own nitrogen. The later-planted crops still look good and are advancing through their stages a bit quicker than the early fields did. Wheat is beginning to shift to its golden hue, and combines are starting to wake from their winter slumber for some needed maintenance and setup. There might be a select few fields ready by the end of the month, but most will harvest the first part of June.

This past week was soggy and cold, so there wasn't much activity in the southwestern part of the state. A slow-moving system tracked through that took a couple days to clear out. Some spots reported as much as 3 inches of rain. The good thing was that any early-stage bean plants that were under water weren’t hurt too much since the temps stayed cool and cloud cover remained for a couple more days until the excess water found its rightful ditch or creek. The corn is still gaining uniformity and finding the spring-applied nitrogen. Additionally, there was a little wheat lodging with the heavy rains in the first part of the week. Some were able to stand back up, but those that were a little further along with fill stayed down.

We had some “dry out” time this past week and capped it off with some well-timed, light to moderate rains. Corn is growing fast — gaining a new leaf every 2.5 days. Beans similarly are gaining height and steadily flowering. There was a small amount of replanting going in just ahead of the weekend. Farmers in the area are right on the cusp of wheat harvest. Some have nosed in to find mid-20s for moisture, so with the coming week looking dry and sunny, we should have a good push by the end of the first week of June.

Wheat harvest in our area has started with the help of a threatening week of rain in the extended forecast. Some early varieties are still testing in the mid-teens and reporting average to above-average yields so far. By the end of the week, farmers in the area will be full swing into wheat and planters will be chasing combines to get their doubles in. As for corn and beans, there was a bit more spraying completed as both begin to fully canopy. The county does have a few mid- to late-March-planted corn fields that have tasseled and look great.

Our area is nearly wrapped up with wheat harvest and most double-crop beans that have been planted have emerged rather quickly thanks to some timely showers and warmth to get them going. This past week had a little precipitation to slow the harvest down for a day, but it wasn't quite enough to keep the beans and corn from showing minor signs of drought stress. Luckily the nights have been cool, and the morning dews have been heavy to help ease the gap between rains. The week ahead looks a little more promising for meaningful moisture as most corn fields are pollinating.

Rain! The county finally received some widespread rain at the end of the week, just in the nick of time for the pollinating corn. Soybeans were showing signs of stress too, so this should give them a good boost going into the forecasted heat next week. Aerial fungicide is being applied in earnest, and most double crops have emerged well this past week. The wheat harvest is wrapped up and most experienced above average to average yields.

It was a long, hot week in our area just ahead of our great nation’s birthday. While daytime temps were in the upper 90s, humidity levels were high and winds were fairly calm, so the plants didn’t stress too much. The weekend brought in some timely showers across most of the county to help provide some relief — for both the plants to cool down overnight and us! Quite a bit more fungicide has been applied to both corn and beans. The preferred application method for corn continues to be helicopter, but there have been a few drone operators sprinkled in here and there. Much of the double-crop soybeans have now overtaken the wheat stubble and looking like they are off to a strong start.

Don’t say it too loud, but our area continues to see some timely rain to keep the crops progressing well. We saw some scattered rain showers move in towards the end of the week, with more widespread, soaking rain Friday/Saturday. While other areas to our south and west received catastrophic amounts of rain, we saw ranges from 2 to 6 inches across a four-day period. We’ll take it, but we’re praying for those that sustained significant property and crop damage in southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois from the flash flooding. The fungicide/insecticide treatments are performing well, and there are no signs (yet) of significant disease pressure.

We had another hot cycle this past week. Last week's rain carried the soybeans through as they set and fill pods, while the corn marched through most of its reproductive stages. As I peel back scattered ears, most seem to be well pollinated and are filling out nicely with no signs of tip back yet. The week ended on a hot and humid note, but timely rain fell again across the county on Sunday. Most areas received anywhere from four-tenths to an inch and a quarter. This week is fair week in Monroe County, so be sure to come out and support the vendors, local producers, and most importantly, the kids that are nearing the end of their animal projects.

It’s officially “corn sweat” season ... Just kidding! We’ve certainly found a high-pressure dome that is keeping heat indices well over 100 (topping 125) as we finish out the week. Sticking with the pattern, there is relief in sight again at the end of week with another well-timed rain and highs in the upper 70s and low 80s. It will be interesting to see the effects of this consistent pattern once combines start rolling. All crops continue to look good across the county. Fungicides/insecticides are being put to the test, but so far, they are holding up really well.