Its Crop Watcher time again !

Todd Easton Coles County April 30 2010: What a difference a year makes and after 2009 that can only be a positive note. Things are looking real good across Coles County so far. Corn planting for the most part started during or right after the weekend after Easter and progressed rapidly to around 95 percent completed ahead of the gentle 1.5 inches of rain we received over the last weekend. About half of the planted corn has just entered into the early V1 stage and stands are looking exceptionally good. With the way most fields went from muddy to ideal planting soils in just a few days many acres skipped the usual pre plant anhydrous applications and will be depending on side dress applications this year. Most producers held off on soybean planting but a few early birds put some out ahead of the rain but with the rain fall being scattered and slow it looks like they should be ok and probably be up before long. As of Thursday fields were still to wet for much work to progress with the exception of some spraying where the winds were not too gusty and if the weekend forecast pans out we may get an extended break. Well no two years are the same and after reviewing Grandpa’s journal from last year we agreed that will be a good thing. Best wishes to all in this new season and please always remember Safety First!