Eye on Crops, Aug. 5, 2011

 

Iroquois County, IL

As I was writing my report on July 29, we received 1.3-2 in. of rain. That was the only precipitation for the week, leaving our farms with a range of 2.7-3.4 in. of rain for the month of July. We could use more rain at this point as some cornfields started rolling leaves again yesterday. The range in corn development is from R2 (blister stage) up to R4 (dough stage). The hot and dry weather in July has reduced the yield potential of corn in our area, but it is had to measure how much at this point.

We finished applying fungicides on corn on Aug. 1. We sprayed slightly over 50% of our corn acres. Crop dusters have now been flying over soybean fields the past few days.

Soybean development in the area ranges from R2 up to the R5, or beginning seed growth stage. Crop development continues to mirror where we were at in 2009 at this point.

The local closing bids for Aug. 4 were $7.18 for nearby corn, $6.81 for new-crop corn, $13.39 for nearby soybeans and $13.13 for new-crop soybeans.