View From the Cab

DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- The 2025 crop year will be benchmarked in Stuart Sanderson's mind as the time it rained.

A lot.

"We've had approximately 5 inches of rain just over the past week," said Sanderson, who farms near Madison, Alabama. "The fronts just keep rolling in. I've never seen anything like it in my farming career."

Nearly 300 acres of Henderson Farms' wheat remains waiting to be harvested and shows signs of beginning to sprout in the head. Low-lying, river bottom land that missed the insurance date deadline to be planted to corn still awaits the soybean planter. The silver lining stands in corn that is now dressed in brown silk and nearly "made."

Nebraska farmer Ethan Zoerb would be glad to share in some liquid abundance. His farm near Litchfield entered the season so dry that irrigation was needed to encourage germination. Some restorative rains arrived earlier this month, but the farm missed most rain events that dotted the area this week. Corn leaves have started to roll to conserve moisture and irrigation duties are back on the chore list.

Zoerb and Sanderson are participating in DTN's View from the Cab series. The feature explores crop conditions and other aspects of rural life throughout the growing season. This is the 21st year for View from the Cab and the 10th article of the year.

Weather has been a constant theme for both farmers this season. And while too dry can be devastating, there are also consequences to too much water. Read on to learn more about what's happening in their regions this week.

ETHAN ZOERB: LITCHFIELD, NEBRASKA

Spotty rainfall totals left Zoerb mostly wishing for more where he farms in Sherman and Custer counties. "The good news is we missed the severe weather out of last week's storms. But we only got one-quarter of an inch out of the entire system," said Zoerb. "Some areas around us got decent amounts, though, and many really needed the moisture."

DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick said Zoerb could see more chances in the coming week. "A front is going to move in on Sunday night and stall out around the area for most of the week. It may move out on Thursday or Friday, but another system will be moving into the Plains for the weekend, so breaks are going to be tough to come by.

"Models are notoriously bad at producing rainfall amounts in these situations, but it could mean rain every day and that could amount to some hefty totals, too. With the front drifting around the area, temperatures could be all over the place. But the rainfall will likely keep the heat pushed off to the southeast so the extreme heat they saw over this weekend will move out in favor of moderate temperatures hovering around 80 (F). But that all depends on the timing of the rainfall that occurs, too," he said.

Missing rain meant field operations continued to roll along at a good clip this past week. Zoerb was finishing up nitrogen side dressing or what he calls "Y-drop season."

If rain doesn't come soon, pivots will be required to water in those fertilizer applications. "You could really see the heat working on the corn this week. It's starting to look a little pineapple-ly out there," he said.

The earliest planted corn is in the V7 to V8 stage and getting close to canopy. This week, tar spot was detected in eastern parts of Nebraska. While the disease has yet to officially be found in the counties where Zoerb farms, it has been moving westward in recent years. White mold is the biggest concern in soybeans.

This time on the farm is what Zoerb defines as "wrap it up" week. Herbicide and Y-Drop applications are nearly a wrap. So is softball season, which between coaching and kids playing can get hectic.

"Maybe we'll get a good night's sleep," Zoerb said, noting that with five young children, that might be as iffy as yearning for rain. "Well, at least maybe we'll get home before 10:00 for a few nights."

STUART SANDERSON: MADISON, ALABAMA

Relentless is how Sanderson describes the recent rain events in his area of Alabama. "The thing is, a week from now it could turn off and I'll probably be saying we need a rain," he said, noting that rains have come so hard that a lot of it has run off.

May was wet, too, but these June rains have come as wheat ripened. "We were one day away from getting it out. That seems the story of this year -- fits and starts. It's been hard to get sustained workdays."

Meteorologist Baranick said the weather is getting "better" down in Alabama, but it's still very wet there.

"The whole region has been dealing with a lot of rain over the last few months and could use an extended dry stretch. The heat is building this weekend and should be around all week. Temperatures will be in the 90s all week long," he said.

"But the flow will be off of the Gulf and that will continue to pump in a lot of moisture. This time of year, that usually leads to a lot of pop-up-type thunderstorms. They're very hit or miss and the whole region has storm chances every day and there are going to be places that miss out entirely. However, those places that get hit by these storms could see some very heavy downpours. It's a very humid and sticky airmass and slow-moving showers in those environments can cause a lot of rain to fall in a short period of time."

Henderson Farms isn't alone in having wheat still standing in the field. "We also can't seem to get sunshine," Sanderson said. "It quits raining and remains cloudy. That's not what you want during wheat harvest. We are starting to see some sprouting in the field. At this rate, we'll be lucky to get a feed-grade out of it," Sanderson said of the remaining wheat crop.

While the farm has easy access to poultry feed markets, feed wheat carries a hefty discount. "They'll take it and maybe give you a dollar for it," he said.

There's another toll that goes beyond discounts. Sanderson enjoys reaching for the standards needed for milling and there's pride that comes with reaping what you've worked for. Some of their 2025 wheat that went in the bin early will meet or come close to meeting quality specs. But there's something about watching a crop deteriorate in the field that works on a grower's soul.

"We still have beans to plant behind that wheat, too. At this point, I'm not sure we will get to plant some of our river bottom ground this year," he said. There's about 600 acres of soybeans that they are still hoping to get into the ground.

The chance of making a decent soybean crop gets slimmer with each passing day. "We've got flooded fields that stink. They are nasty with a layer of muck on them," he noted.

The corn, however, looks good. That's a bright spot, especially since consistent rain had created a scenario where roots haven't had to reach deep.

"This last rain will carry us 10 days and that takes us into July. If we get another rain on that corn in 10 days, it's fully made," he noted. "Pollination looks good. Silks are drying up and dark. Fingers crossed, we'll start harvesting that corn in August."

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

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