Vital Rain Showers West Central Illinois Farmland

July 11, 2022

An answered prayer came our way from Mother Nature late last week. Over the last several weeks you could sense the growing angst from farmers, farm managers and landowners alike. “Sure is hot; We could really use a rain; It will be serious if something doesn’t happen soon,” were all standard procedure in recent conversations. After a run of 100-degree days and missed showers, the crops were really starting to show signs of stress. Beans had become somewhat stagnant in growth and the corn was visibly rolling its leaves. All of this was happening right at a crucial stretch of the crop’s development. What makes last week’s rain welcoming beyond the obvious is that this stretch precipitation wasn’t really expected. Just earlier in the week, the 7-10 day forecast showed little optimism.

Thankfully this weather curveball came into motion on Wednesday when stretches of Greene County (arguably the driest area to boot) got 2+ inches. That was followed by consecutive days of significant rain throughout West Central Illinois.  Whether it was 2 inches or the 4 inches we dumped out at home, the importance of this rain shouldn’t be undersold. It was VITAL and goes along way as the crops get ready to produce ears and pods.

We still have a long way to go, but the prospects are still there for a solid crop. Those of us in agriculture have a knack of, dare I say, complaining about the weather. This time however, let’s tip our cap to Mother Nature and hope she continues to play nice through the latter stages of this crop.

– Luke Worrell: Accredited Farm Manager, Accredited Land Consultant, Managing Broker