What drought? Usually around this time of year, entering mid-summer, Illinois growers are grousing about a lack of rain. This season has been flipped upside-down, with Mother Nature delivering rainfall at record levels and leaving growers frustrated, and – well, grousing.

Wet conditions throughout the state have left the corn nearly 20 percent less mature than last year’s record crop, at the same time in mid-July, according to the latest NASS weekly crop progress report. As of the week ended July 12, corn conditions overall worsened a bit from the week before, with 56 percent of the crop rated as in good or excellent condition compared to 62 percent the week before.

On top of the record-setting average of 9.53 inches of rain in June, July rainfall already had exceeded 3 inches, nearly twice the average rate for the month, said State Climatologist Jim Angel.

Soybeans, or the ones that survived the onslaught, also are showing signs of inconsistency, with 48 percent of the crop in good or excellent condition. But winter wheat took the biggest hit from the heavy rains in June, typically when the product is harvested, said Jim Hawkins, with the Illinois Farm Bureau.

Hawkins knows of wheat growers who have already written off their entire crop.

“The excess rain has just degraded the quality of the crop,” he said. “Many farmers are getting price discounts on virtually everything. They may have a yield, but the quality of the crop is very poor.”

More than half the state’s topsoil has moisture levels at surplus, with the subsoil surplus rate nearly the same, according to the report.

Todd Ballard, a USDA official based in St. Louis, said there is a silver lining, at least for the corn crop in Illinois. Most growers got corn into the ground early enough, compared to Missouri, which lagged significantly.

“For the most part, Illinois is in pretty good shape, as far as getting things planted, they are just a little behind,” he said. “Missouri is a different story. Missouri is way behind.”