West Alton

I went to West Alton Via Shipman today. This my first day sampling for the fall season. Along the way, very little corn was harvested, but 95% is mature. Much more than Illinois crop report says, although, I don't think it matters this early. Farmers know when they are ready to harvest without the report. As I travelled in St. Charles County, I saw about 20% of corn harvested. Some are way ahead of that pace and others were just starting. I even found a few fields already fall tilled as below. Soybeans are still a very green for the most part. I did spot a little SDS, but nothing too serious. Just a few wet spots that probably were not going to make much anyway.
The people below were unloading on the go. This is a very good practice to speed up harvest, but it can create compaction. Soils was still wet in the wet swales. Moisture was good everywhere, even on the sandy ridges.