Currently our corn and soybean crops look very good and the commodity traders at the Board of Trade seem to know this as well. New crop corn and soybean prices have fallen since their recent mid-June highs - $0.80 for corn and $1.30 for soybeans.

As far as crop issues:

• Corn is looking good, except for areas that have been affected by strong storms and high winds. In those areas, we are seeing corn lodging and leaf tearing.
• Soybeans are also looking good, even though Japanese Beetles can be found feeding on leaves. So far, their damage is minor.
• Weed escapes are beginning to show in soybean fields, particularly where waterhemps taller than herbicide label recommendations were sprayed post-emergent. This weed control practice is a great way to develop weeds tolerant to the herbicides that you are using.
• Noticed soil compaction in a field where plants were dug and roots where inspected. This field had no visible signs of crop stress, so once, again, soil compaction - the "hidden" yield robber.

A podcast of my recent field survey is available at: https://soundcloud.com/user-259959437/episode2 .