Iroquois County, IL

On Sunday, Sept. 18, we received 0.2-0.4 in. of rain on our farms.  At the end of the week, a few combines were in local fields to harvest corn and soybean.  Not much has been harvested. 

Local corn development is anywhere from the dent stage with the milk line 30% of the way down the kernel up to the few acres that have been harvested.  The driest hand sample I had was 29% moisture while the local elevator reported that most hand samples are ranging from 25% to 30%.  Most corn would be 30% and above. 

Most soybean fields range from R7, or beginning maturity, up to R8, full maturity.  Only a few fields of soybeans in the area have seen harvest activity over the past week.  Harvest activity and crop development is ahead of 2009, but not by much. 

After a big move down Thursday, the local closing bids for Sept. 22 were $6.34 for nearby corn, $5.44 for fall 2012 corn, $12.52 for nearby soybeans and $12.34 for fall 2012 soybeans.