Published on May 26, 2026 8:27 am
Last Updated on May 26, 2026 8:27 am
By RHIANNON BRANCH FarmWeek
Frequent and heavy rain events this month prompted some farmers across the state to consider replanting.
“Most of our replant concerns this year have been centered around those localized heavy rains that have caused some crusting and issues like that,” said Chris Brown, Burrus Seed field agronomist covering the eastern two-thirds of Illinois.
He said it is natural for farmers to want to try for a better stand, but it is important to consider potential yield differences based on planting date.
“When you plant 140,000 population beans, you’d like to have 100,000 to 120,000 (emerge). We’re out there making stand counts of 70,000 to 80,000, but when that’s planted in April, that still has a very good yield potential compared to coming back and getting that 130,000 to 140,000 planted in late May,” he said.
Replanting also does not guarantee a better stand, so farmers must consider potential return on investment of the replanted crop.
“You could be money ahead to keep that reduced stand and not do anything,” Brown said.
Dylan Houser, COUNTRY Financial crop claims manager, said replant claims began pouring in at the beginning of the month, mostly from the southeastern region. Almost all Illinois claims so far have come from farmers in Effingham and contiguous counties or further east including Clark, Crawford and Lawrence.
“Last year was a tough year for replant and we’re very similar to where we were sitting this time last year, and even in 2024,” Houser told FarmWeek. “The difference is that area was fortunate enough to get in the fields earlier. There was a lot of June planting last year, whereas this year they got in much more timely in April, so percentage wise we’re further along.”
Houser said even if it is just precautionary, farmers should work with their agent to turn a claim in if there is a chance they need to replant.
“Risk Management Agency guidelines require approved insurance providers to give authorization before any replanting can occur,” he said. “So, the biggest thing is to talk to your crop insurance agent and get a claim turned in so the adjuster is aware that you may need to replant. Then they can get all of the information to the client to verify all replant qualifications are met and authorize the replant when it’s time to go.”
Claims slowed down at the end of last week. Houser said recent rains have many farmers in a holding pattern, waiting for fields to dry before deciding what to do.
“At this point I don’t expect a huge influx of claims like we saw the last two weeks, unless we continue to get heavy rains,” he said.
USDA’s crop progress and condition report released May 18 estimated the state’s farmers had 75% of corn planted, a jump from 54% the previous week. Soybean planting reached 74% planted, up from 57% the week before.
The department estimated 46% of Illinois corn had emerged, in line with the five-year average and 44% of soybeans had emerged, which remains ahead of average pace.
As the calendar flips to June, Brown said corn farmers need to assess whether their nitrogen program is still sufficient.
“You need to make sure you haven’t lost nitrogen due to leaching throughout the spring with the rain events we’ve had,” he said. “Be on the lookout for any evidence or symptomology around nutrient deficiencies and be sure to address those as they come up.”
Areas with sitting water could experience leaching and denitrification.
“Those would be some of those first areas you’re going to be most concerned about as well as highly leachable soils like your sands and your low organic matter soils,” Brown said.
