What August fields are telling us

Welcome to the Outstanding in the Field podcast. It is the August 2026, and my name is Doug Gucker, Extension commercial ag educator here in East Central Illinois. As I have been saying for weeks, the corn and soybean crops are looking good overall. The reports of the 2026 soft red winter wheat yields here in Illinois have been good. The twenty twenty six Illinois Wheat Association yield contest winner was Wendell Good from Tazwell County at a 145.1 bushels per acre.

Here in East Central Illinois, Wayne Probst of Effingham County came in in third place with a yield of 136.6 bushels per acre. The early planted cornfields are in the R four dough stage with some kernels beginning to dent. Corn leaf diseases are still very low in most fields with some gray leaf spot and Physoderma Brown Spot in a few scattered fields. The early planted soybeans are in the R five beginning pod stage. Presently, the only soybean disease observed is Septoria Brown Spot on the lower shaded canopy leaves, which is typical for this time of the year.

Japanese beetles are present in fields, but so far the defoliation has remained below treatment thresholds. The biggest crop issues area wide have been in fields affected by severe weather, storm damage, and the problems caused by lowland flooding. In these fields, I'm seeing nitrogen deficiency, high leaf disease pressure, poor weed control, and reduced crop stands. A recent report from the University of Illinois farm doc team of ag economists shows that since 2012, soybeans have been more profitable than corn in ten of those thirteen years. The only three years where corn has been more profitable were 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Part of this is the increasing use of soybean oil in the biofuels industry has boosted domestic soybean use over the past decade. Recent research led by Dr. Andrew Margenot University of Illinois soil scientist, and his team is proposing the idea of testing corn and soybean soybean grain for its phosphorus and potassium levels as a better way to get an estimate of the actual fertilizer replacement needs for that field instead of using soil tests, something we'll need to keep an eye on. As always, stay safe while farming, and remember, it's profit per acre, not yield per acre that keeps you in business. Thanks for listening.