Jacobs observes varying conditions

Bean leaf beetles and twisted cornfields are already causing headaches for farmers and harvest hasn’t even started.

Don Jacobs, who farms in McLean County, wonders if a soybean field that looks good now will have acceleration in beetle populations soon. This is something which needs to be monitored ahead of harvest.

“There are a lot of fields that have just a little bit of damage and spraying isn’t warranted at that point,” Jacobs told The Central Illinois Farm Network over the weekend.

While walking cornfields recently, Jacobs noticed some of the July 12 wind damage is evident. Some earlier corn varieties are showing maturation or black layer but some of the goose neck corn is behind that.

“I thought maybe we’d be seeing some harvest in 10 days but I think it’s going to be just a little longer than that, more like Sept. 20 or 25 before a lot of guys get rolling,” said Jacobs.

Some fields will show yield loss from damaged corn and eventually, growers may have to combine a few fields one way which will not be fun.

Jacobs had the chance to view his fields from the air late this summer and noticed some varieties performed much worse than others.

“Oddly enough, I think the late-planted corn was showing less damage from wind but there is a concern on varieties that got blown over and straightened back up.”

It was difficult for Jacobs to tell from the air how much insect damage his soybeans suffered.