There is no doubt that the 2019 growing season has been full of ups and downs. First there were the relentless rain events that delayed planting in the spring. Next we had an extended period without any rainfall late in the summer. And then, when it was about time to think about getting out in the fields to start harvesting, another round of consistent rain. We simply could not catch a break. 

However tempting it is to "write off this year as a fluke from which there are no real lessons to be learned", as Professor Emerson Nafziger put it, we may want to rethink that. In essence what we have this year is a large and unplanned experiment executed by Illinois farmers. We are observing in real-time how planting date and variety maturity affect crop yields and harvest moisture throughout Illinois. Our hope is to collect a few key data points from as many fields throughout Illinois as possible so that we will be better-prepared in the event that we find ourselves in such an unfortunate situation again. 

This is the data we are looking for: 

• Illinois county where the field is located
• Crop (corn or soybean)
• Planting date
• Maturity rating (relative maturity for corn [days RM] or soybean maturity group) 
• Yield
• Harvest moisture 
• And any additional information on weather or management is optional

You can find a link to fill out the survey for your fields here. This link will need to be re-opened for every field you submit. Alternatively, you can follow this link to a printable form that can be either scanned and emailed to me at harbach2@illinois.edu or mailed to me at the NWIARDC (mailing address provided on the form). 

If you have any questions, please let me know! We look forward to seeing these results and sharing our findings with you in the future.