Jarboe feels fortunate this season
LODA – Most of the crops in Jeff Jarboe’s fields throughout Ford and Iroquois counties appear to be doing well so far.
The Loda area farmer still had water in pond areas last week after several inches of rain fell the week before.
“We’ve actually been very fortunate compared to our neighbors in the north and south,” Jarboe told The Central Illinois Farm Network over the weekend.
Jarboe noticed the corn came up looking great but then started to appear uneven, which indicated compaction issues in some fields. He predicts an above-average corn crop overall if the current trend holds. Many area soybeans got off to a slower start this year with a light green color.
“For the most part, they are kind of growing out of that now and I think they’ll be okay.”
Many farmers are looking to apply fungicide to corn and soybean fields this summer and that includes Jarboe.
“With the prices like they are, I’m going to be putting a lot of fungicide on,” Jarboe said.
Jarboe formerly served on the Illinois Corn Growers board, which is a lobbying group. He served for nine years and was president for a year. Jarboe considers it a great group to serve with as he felt it was interesting to see what happens behind the scenes.
The waterways initiative continues as it looks like there is a chance to get real funding for locks and dams on the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers.
“This is something that started over 20 years ago, trying to get these things replaced,” explained Jarboe.
With commodity prices at profitable levels, Jarboe is hopeful for some good years ahead. He is currently cautiously optimistic about agriculture currently.
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