Last week’s minimal precipitation and cool, clear weather kept farmers busy with fieldwork and 4-H fairs – a welcome change from the hot, humid weather that preceded it.

According to the NASS Great Lakes regional office, there were 5.1 days suitable for fieldwork, corn was 42 percent silked and 55 percent of soybeans were blooming and another 18 percent were setting pods.

Tom Weaver, who lives near Athens in Fulton County, planted 1,250 acres of soybeans. "That’s all I planted," he said. "Last year I planted corn in all 1,250 acres."

With his eye to the sky, he said the season was slow-starting, but the weather has been good overall. "We have enough different soils to be okay," he said.

He’s grateful there is no drought this year, but he doesn’t like wet, cloudy days with high humidity. "Days like that trigger white mold," he said, "and there’s not a lot of stuff to control that. The beans can look nice all year, and the mold will kill them right at the very end of the growing season."

As a precaution, he’s applying fertilizer mixed with fungicide and insecticide on his acreage. "I’ve already done the herbicide," he said.

"We don’t need a lot of water for beans," he added, "but we need a little more often."

NASS also noted spraying for weeds and fungus was a common sight in soybean fields. "Irrigation has been picking up in corn fields as corn begins to silk," it stated.

Meanwhile, with temperatures fluctuating between 69-78 degrees, farmers were more willing to interrupt fieldwork for the local 4-H fair.