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Illinois corn yields impacted by season of roller coaster weather

A Dekalb / Asgrow agronomist says many producers are discovering the results of less-than-ideal summer growing conditions this harvest season.

Lance Tarochione, who covers western Illinois, says in addition to warm overnights during pollination, the corn crop in some areas suffered from too much rain.

“The worst corn in the state by far are the guys that unfortunately picked up 12 to 15 inches of rain in June.”  He says, “If you’ve got rolling ground that water can’t stand on, that’s a big plus this year.”

AUDIO: Lance Tarochione – Dekalb / Asgrow

John Klemm, who raises corn, soybeans, and cattle in DeWitt County in central Illinois, agrees.

“There’s spots in the field, even fields that are pattern tiled that I’ve been in, you can tell where those low-lying spots are.”  He says, “The crop’s really short there. There’s not much ear there, so those low spots are going to take their toll.”

He tells Brownfield it’s brought yields on his early planted corn down 10-15% below his five-year average.

“It’s really not surprising me.”  He says, “Starting out really dry, going through an extremely wet period, back to dry, back to really wet in August; when you get that, it proves difficult to raise a quality crop.”

As harvest rolls on, Klemm says he’s still optimistic his later-planted corn utilized the late season rains for a better grain fill to help improve his overall yields.

AUDIO: John Klemm – Illinois farmer