After a wet time across most of Illinois, the week of May 14 returned to more normal conditions and fieldwork resumed at a brisk pace, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Illinois Weather & Crops report.

The report was echoed by Tim Foster, a Peoria County farmer who finished soybean planting on Friday. Foster reported unusually dry conditions affecting his Elmwood crop fields were alleviated by timely rains both before and after planting.

“In our area it was close to being too dry. Some of the (farmers) were getting concerned, and so was I,” said Foster, who planted just over 1,000 acres of corn and about 900 acres of soybeans. “But we got timely rains to get (corn) going and the plants greened up.”

As to current soil moisture levels, he said “everything is about as good as can be right now.” Foster began planting corn on April 10 and finished around two weeks later, while his soybean planting began May 10.

Many entomologists have predicted a higher-than-usual presence of pests this year due to the mild winter that failed to eradicate many of the year-round insects. But on the Foster farm, it has been so far, so good. “The early counts have not shown any significant (populations) that were noticed. Right now I would say we’re looking pretty good,” he said.

“The first beans are just cracking through the ground today (May 18), so we don’t have any problems with insects at this time.” He added he would be vigilant with spot checks for crop pests during various growth stages of his plants this spring and summer.

“It’s been an unusual year with the ground as dry as it’s ever been,” Foster continued. “We have dry fields that are hardly ever dry this time of year. Apparently we’ve got some potential for drought conditions if the dryness continues.”

NASS reported that corn was 95 percent planted at the time of the report, up from 59 percent in 2011 and the five-year average of 65 percent. Soybeans were pegged at 44 percent planted, well ahead of the 12 percent estimate for 2011 and the five-year average of 21 percent.

As the winter wheat crop began to head in Indiana, freeze damage became apparent and some farmers were left to decide whether to give the crop a chance or tear it up.

The vast majority of this year’s crop already has headed when, in most years, just over a quarter of it would be in the head stage at this time. According to Purdue University extension agronomist Shaun Casteel, the crop was between the boot and heading stages when a late-April freeze occurred in northern Indiana. That, he said, is a prime time for severe freeze damage.

A freeze earlier in April occurred when most wheat was jointing, and the crop suffered only some leaftip burn. With the latter freeze, the damage is less visible, so Casteel recommends farmers get out in the field to scout.

“Younger wheat, prior to boot, will need to be split to determine if the growing point is dead,” he said. “The leaves may still be green, but the developing head is dead.”

Fruit and berry crops also sustained considerable freeze damage. In Tippecanoe County, Prelock Blueberry Farm lost its crop to the mid-April freeze and will not open for business at all in 2012. “The bushes look lush and healthy, but unfortunately there are very few blueberries on them this year,” owners wrote in its newsletter.

Corn, soybeans and alfalfa are well ahead of schedule in the Hoosier State, with effectively all corn planted and about three-quarters of the crop emerged. Most soybean acreage also is planted, and about half that crop has emerged, as well. Many farmers have made their first alfalfa cutting, virtually unheard of at this point in the season.