What a difference a month makes

Looking at the crops today, it is hard to imagine we were coming off of a dry period just a month ago along with a few wind and hail events during that time.

Despite all of this, crops are looking good in Central Illinois thanks to plenty of precipitation in July. In fact, it was likely one of the wettest Julys on record.

“The later planted corn was most affected (by storm damage),” said Bryan Lessen with Rob-See-Co. “Obviously, it didn’t have the largest root system to anchor it down.”

Lessen recently headed up north near Amboy and noticed some amazing corn in that region too.

“Some of the areas are looking very good and the markets are responding accordingly.”

There are more rootworm beetles than in recent years. This is an observation Lessen made while trapping. He is not sure why this is the case since we have more rotated corn compared to a decade ago. Lessen strongly recommends considering a few different platforms for rootworm traits.

“Maybe they need to incorporate a percentage of an alternative trait,” Lessen noted.

For example, if a grower is Smart Stax based, maybe they should try 10-20 percent Duracade or implement a granular insecticide in-furrow at planting. This will protect those traits, ensuring growers have them for the foreseeable future.

Enlist soybeans seem to be popular for Rob-See-Co, according to Lessen. The company is also testing several new corn varieties in local plots.

“We actually work with three of the top four largest genetic suppliers.”

For more information, contact Lessen at 309-660-5974 or visit www.robseeco.com.