BLOOMINGTON, Ill (WMBD) — As the saying goes, knee-high by the Fourth of July, but this year, the corn is growing faster than ever, being knee-high by the beginning of June.
According to a seed specialist at Evergreen FS, corn this year is growing faster than it has before, and the recent rainfall is helping it too.
“From a corn standpoint, corn is growing incredibly, incredibly fast right now,” said Kelsey Rincker, a seed specialist at Evergreen FS. “We didn’t really have any crazy big rain events until about the last two and a half weeks. So the corn was already really far along and was growing at the rapid speed that we’ve seen in previous years.”
The recent rain has also forced farmers to make some decisions when it comes to their crops, trying to avoid root rot.
“In those areas where we saw significant rain events, we’re seeing very large areas for tougher root rot. And those spots we are having to make some management decisions. But in most cases on the beans side of things, there are just some areas where they’re drowned-out pockets, and then there is also the same thing on the corn perspective,” said Rincker.
As long as farmer can protect their crops from this root rot, as well as spray fungicide at the correct time, the yield will still be great for the 2026 harvest.
“The potential is still really high out there from a yield perspective, as long as we can continue to protect those bushels moving forward,” she said.
WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.
