Corn
While many farmers in the state were delighted by the results the 2025 season delivered, that wasn’t the case everywhere. In some areas, Mother Nature delivered a series of agronomic problems that dominoed and turned a potential bin buster crop into one that was average at best by harvest.
Corn yield champs say annual soil testing is the best way to make sure fields are up to the goal of delivering profitable high yields every season.
After three straight years of having a May-planted crop that outperformed corn planted only a few weeks earlier, some Illinois farmers are ready to throw in the towel on planting corn before the calendar turns to May.
With low commodity prices and higher input costs, identifying hybrids that are a good fit for your soil types and environmental conditions is more important than ever – and can give you a leg up on yield performance from the get-go next spring.
Basis levels improved this week, with some analysts saying it could have been from China buying, even if the government shutdown means no daily export sales data can offer proof. But one analyst says there is a bullish case for corn, especially considering global stocks of corn relative to use, are the tightest since the 2012 drought.
As Jed Bower takes the helm at NCGA, he is working to expand market opportunities in the U.S. and abroad, and looking for practical ways to reduce regulatory burdens on farmers.
At the Reints farm in northeast Iowa, corn yields have been running higher than last year, but a lot of yield potential was left in the field due to disease, specifically a rare strain of southern rust.
It’s a head-scratcher situation: some Illinois farmers are reporting moisture levels in their corn are dropping only one point per week.
It’s not disease hurting the Illinois corn and soybean crop this year. It’s dryness and drought. Ashland, Ill., farmer Brent Johnson says just two weeks into harvest, the dry finish to summer is eating into both his corn and soybean yields.
The crop took it on the chin this season, with some Iowa farmers reporting huge yield losses as harvest gets underway. A one-time fungicide application helped, but it wasn’t enough to buck severe disease pressure, allowing it to return.
Market analysts says the September WASDE did not fully account for the disease pressure and dry finish in the East in both the corn and soybean crop.
Kernel depth and fill contribute significantly to yield in newer hybrids. It’s one reason a ‘Hail Mary’ fungicide pass might still offer ROI and keep corn standing until combines roll.
Infection may not directly impact herd health, but it can have implications for nutritional management.
A prematurely collapsing ear shank stops grain fill, leading to yield reductions that can reach as high as 40%.
The corn crop faced tight tassel wrap and other pollination challenges in 2025. Here’s what one Kansas farm does to minimize risk and safeguard yield potential.
The Midwest crop is being pushed into black layer (R6) prematurely in some areas in ways that are easy to confuse with normal drydown factors.
The disease is causing turmoil for farmers who have a large crop in the making. In some cases, a Hail Mary fungicide application at R4 up to early dent (R5) might make sense this season, say agronomists.
There is still up to 55% of the kernel dry weight left to be accumulated by many corn hybrids at this point — starch that can contribute significantly to grain fill and higher test weights.
Love is in the Air: How a 13-Acre Corn Maze in Ohio Turned Into a Larger-Than-Life Marriage Proposal
Tim Sullivan had a grand idea this spring: turn his family’s corn maze into a 13-acre marriage proposal for his then girlfriend Caroline. With the help of local farmers, his dream became a reality: flying her over the corn maze to create an epic proposal.
USDA doesn’t survey actual fields until next month, which means Pro Farmer Crop Tour is the first time scouts, across a wide geography, will actually step into fields and see if the crop is as good as it looks from the road.
With at least four weeks left in the growing season, Ferrie encourages farmers to stay ahead of heavy disease pressure in fields, particularly in what he calls D hybrids — those that punch their yield card late-season.
One concern cited is that USDA tends to aim too high with its August yield estimates, based on what the data shows from the past decade. The other concern is how strong demand will be, given corn carryover projections.
Corn yield estimates in seven counties surrounding the community of Bloomington indicate farmers there will harvest an average crop, at best. That’s counter to what USDA predicts for Illinois yield results statewide.
If USDA predictions hold true, a massive U.S. corn crop is on the way.
The extent of the disease in the state is the worst one ISU Extension pathologist says she has ever seen. Farmers in 17 other states have also confirmed the disease.
Short-stature corn is often planted at higher populations because its architecture allows for better light interception and more efficient use of resources when plants are grown closer together. But that’s not always the case, according to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.
NCGA’s Krista Swanson says it would take about 226 bu. of corn to buy a ton of ammonium phosphate, which is up from the 180 bu. it took at the beginning of this year. As fertilizer costs are on the rise, corn prices are now at or below $4, and it’s creating a grim outlook for 2026.
Camaraderie is cathartic. It lifts spirits, gives encouragement and reminds all of us we are valuable. Check out what farmers have to say about this year’s corn crop – the good, the bad and the in-between – and may their experiences lighten your load in the process.
USDA reports 73% of the corn crop nationally is in good to excellent condition – a 5% increase over this same time in 2024. Industry analysts believe the Aug. 12 Crop Production report will boost its estimate for the 2025 crop because of the overall favorable growing season.
Nebraska grower Brian Herbek says a ‘finishing pass’ can help fill corn ears all the way to their tips with kernels and pack on more starch in the process. Hear more of Herbek’s insights along with David Hula and Randy Dowdy on Breaking Barriers With R&D.