Farm

Many area corn fields resemble rolling waves as the plants' height varies from 18 inches to 6 feet – depending on where the crops are in the field.

Standing water in low-lying fields has stunted plants, or, in some cases, killed them. Conversely, corn in well-drained fields is entering the silking phase. 

Corn planted in Illinois in 2011 is estimated at 12.5 million acres, down 300,000 acres from the March Prospective Plantings Report, and down 100,000 acres from last year.
Acreage planted to biotechnology varieties is estimated at 86 percent of the total acreage, up from 82 percent last year. Bt varieties account for 14 percent, herbicide-resistant varieties account for 17 percent and stacked-gene varieties account for 55 percent.
Planting got off to a slow start in 2011. As of May 1, just 10 percent of the crop was planted, 36 points behind the five-year average.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture is encouraging farmers to save their empty agrichemical containers. The department announced this week that it has arranged to recycle them.    
Beginning in August, sites throughout the state will collect the containers and grind them into small plastic chips that will be used to make shipping pallets, fence posts, drainage tubing, plastic lumber and other useful products.

Warm weather and sunny skies gave crops a boost early last week before rains brought things to a halt on Friday.
The average statewide temperature was 75.2 degrees, 4.8 degrees above normal.
Average statewide precipitation was above normal this week at 1.32 inches. The norm for the time period is 0.92 inches.
With 4.5 days suitable for fieldwork, some farmers were able to finally finish planting, or re-planting, while others were out spraying herbicides and baling hay.