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ILSoyAdvisor Crop Report Tool
ILSoyAdvisor Crop Report Tool
By Olivia Key
Farmers across Illinois now have access to a new, easy-to-navigate Crop Report tool, brought to you by the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) Agronomy team who powers the ILSoyAdvisor online platform. Funded by the ISA checkoff program, ILSoyAdvisor provides the latest education, resources, webinars, success stories, and now timely crop condition updates, so you can maximize your operation.
The ISA Agronomy team, ILSoyAdvisor Soy Envoys, University of Illinois Extension, and other industry experts teamed up to create this interactive resource, enabling growers to better manage their soybean, corn, and wheat crops. From field conditions to crop progress, disease alerts, and pest sightings, the online Crop Report tool provides farmers with facts and strategic analyses of relevant information that impacts their farms.
“This online tool is just another example of a project funded by soybean checkoff dollars that keeps farmers up-to-date, specifically on the state of soil and crop growth across Illinois regions,” said ISA Outreach Agronomist, Stephanie Porter, CCA.
The tool divides the state into six regions by county to provide relevant updates from fields in each area. The breakdown is as follows:
• Region 1 consists of Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Lake, Carroll, Ogle, DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, Cook, Whiteside, Lee, and Kendall counties.
• Region 2 consists of Rock Island, Henry, Bureau, Mercer, Stark, Putnam, Marshall, Henderson, Warren, Knox, Peoria, Woodford, Hancock, McDonough, Fulton, and Tazewell counties.
• Region 3 consists of La Salle, Grundy, Will, Livingston, Kankakee, McLean, Ford, and Iroquois counties.
• Region 4 consists of Adams, Schuyler, Mason, Logan, Brown, Cass, Menard, Christian, Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, Pike, Calhoun, Green, Macoupin, Montgomery, and Jersey counties.
• Region 5 consists of DeWitt, Piatt, Champaign, Vermilion, Macon, Moultrie, Douglas, Edgar, Shelby, Coles, Cumberland, and Clark counties.
• Region 6 consists of Madison, Bond, Fayette, Effingham, Jasper, Crawford, St. Clair, Clinton, Marion, Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Monroe, Washington, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Randolph, Perry, Franklin, Hamilton, White, Jackson, Williamson, Saline, Gallatin, Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Pulaski, and Massac counties.
2023 Soy Envoy and Certified Crop Advisor, Karen Corrigan, said, “The ILSoyAdvisor Crop Report tool is great because it can quickly record anything I see wherever I am. Sitting in the school pick-up line and see some suspicious looking beans - document it! Walking up to the church to help prepare for vacation bible school and notice a large flock of geese - document the damage! See something relevant - record it for others to be on notice. Short, sweet, and to the point.”
In a Region 2 report from May 19, Corrigan gave an update on the condition of a field in Woodford County on which she had previously reported. Corrigan stated in her synopsis that the field looked much better compared to the week before, and many fields in southern Woodford County had crops emerging, with corn at VE and soybeans at V1-2. She also found that some organic fields and pumpkins were yet to be planted, and it seemed crops just to the west in Tazewell County were farther along.
In a Region 6 report from May 25, Kelly Robertson, a 2023 Soy Envoy and Certified Crop Advisor, stated in his synopsis that the wireworms previously found in Saline County were hurting stands in corn planted on hills and sandy soils, and recommended that farmers in the area scout their fields. Robertson also stated in his report that the soil in the area was drier than normal, and plant growth may have been slowed.
“We are pleased to have received so many valuable ‘boots on the ground’ field insights and updates from our ISA Agronomy team, U of I Extension, as well as ISA Soy Envoys,” said Porter. “We will continue to gather feedback and look for ways to improve the future ILSoyAdvisor Online Crop Report user experience as well as its outreach efforts to Illinois farmers.”
According to Porter, the Crop Report tool is a great example of collaboration between the ISA Agronomy team, Soy Envoys, and the University of Illinois Extension team. With these experts on your side, you can ensure you are receiving relevant updates from fields in your area to stay informed and overcome issues.
Talon Becker, Commercial Agriculture Educator for the University of Illinois Extension, said, "Illinois Extension is happy to join forces with the Illinois Soybean Association to provide up-to-date reports of crop and field conditions throughout Illinois. It is our hope that through this partnership, we can provide a more complete, useful public resource that will provide a record of the general crop conditions across the state throughout the growing season."
To learn more and to stay current on field updates in your area, go to https://www.ilsoyadvisor. com/crop-report/.
