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CROP AND WEATHER REPORT
For the Monthly Report Ending June 18, 2026
GENERAL COMMENTS & WEATHER: Since our previous report in mid-May, the weather has been ideal for most of Southwest Minnesota (SWMN). Temperatures have started to warm up with some recent days even reaching low 90s. Along with the heat, semi-frequent rains have hit most areas in the last month. Although these rains were variable in amount, they have allowed most fields to flourish. With many farmers able to plant earlier than normal, the growing season has extended. Weeds have also had ideal growing conditions, but are being kept under control. Overall, both the corn and soybeans crops look good at this time.
Precipitation totals have ranged from 2.5 to 5.5 inches during the past month. A few scattered thunderstorms brought much of the rainfall, with amounts varying from zero to 2 inches. Scattered is the key word with totals fluctuating greatly across the different counties. Thankfully, we have avoided any flooding rains. Most moisture has come 0.1–1.5 inches at a time. These levels are ideal as it is not enough to cause crop loss due to ponding. Just as the area was starting to become a little dry, we received another timely rainfall of about 0.5 inches yesterday (6/17).
Figure 1 – When scouting fields, unusual wet spots are good indicators of broken tile. Getting a crew out to determine the cause of the excess moisture and fix the tile are of high priority. Due to the heavy rains back in 2024 and dry conditions last year, we found more tile breaks this spring than in the past several years.
There have been a few isolated fields that had to be replanted for various reasons. For a few farmers, certain varieties of corn had trouble emerging. While this could be caused by a multitude of reasons (cool/damp conditions in April), working directly with the seed dealers resulted in a refund of some of the seed purchased. Some areas (mostly in Rock County) also received hail on May 17th, just after our last report. The corn fields that were affected had pretty torn up leaves, but came out looking good after about a week. The soybeans were a different story, most needing some new soybeans inter-seeded to replace the lost population. Crop insurance claims were submitted to the agent/adjustor and we will process them upon receipt.
Temperatures have been up and down this last month reaching both extremes. Daily high temps ranged from 53 to 92 degrees and daily lows from 31 to 68 degrees. Through June 15th, we are at a cumulative 682 Growing Degree Days (GDD), compared to the historical average of 601 GDD, according to the Southwestern Minnesota Research and Outreach Center (SWROC) in Lamberton, MN. Topsoil and subsurface moisture levels are slightly below historical averages, but we are still within good levels. Recent rains and hopefully some more that are in the forecast will help get us back to “normal.”
CORN: The USDA has Minnesota’s corn condition rating at 81% good to excellent; this is 13% higher than the overall rating for the United States at 68%. There is a wide range of variability in the corn at this point in the season as is typical. Planting dates spanned the month of April, resulting in some corn that is approaching “waist high” and some that is only eight inches tall. The heat we received last week boosted corn growth and with more heat in the forecast this rapid growth should continue.
Most farmers who practice side-dressing as a form of in-season nitrogen application are done as corn is becoming too tall. Side dressing nitrogen remains a reliable way to combat nitrogen loss due to environmental factors. If there are any shortfalls in a nitrogen program, they will begin to show up as yellowing in the fields.
Almost all herbicide applications have been completed in corn fields. We have seen fewer weeds escape the first round of post emergence this year than we have in the past few years. For farmers who are still seeing weeds after a first round of spraying, they may be starting to have some resistance and need another mode of action. This would result in them needing another round of spraying. It also stresses the importance of spraying weeds when they are small and when the conditions are right, which was challenging during the cool weather through late May. Most of the field operations for corn, except for some ridge-till cultivating and applying a fungicide, are now complete until harvest.
Figure 2 – Many corn fields are starting to canopy. Weed pressure goes down significantly so spraying for any remaining weeds now is ideal.
SOYBEANS: The soybeans in Minnesota are rated 80% good to excellent. Nationally, only 66% of the soybeans are rated good to excellent. Many are considering SWMN the garden spot in the state.
Most soybean fields emerged with little issue this year, despite the cool conditions in April into mid-May. We have been thankful for periodic rains in most areas here in Southwest Minnesota to keep the ground soft for emergence. Due to these rains, soybeans have been able to flourish and herbicides have been effective. With pre-emerge applications done shortly after planting, the second round of applications have been underway and are expected to wrap up soon. These two applications should be enough to keep the majority of weeds at bay until the soybeans canopy.
Figure 3 – Even though a field can appear free of weeds from the road, there are always small weeds between the rows coming up due to the periodic rains. Spraying soybeans with a herbicide plan that includes a residual factor can keep a farmer from having to spray a third time.
REMARKS: The Geopolitical events that dominated the headlines for the last few months have not slowed down, though farmers are seeing some relief. Fertilizer prices (mainly nitrogen) have decreased for the first time since February and the grain markets decreased as well, but are seeing a small rebound this week. Oil is also trading at the lowest price since mid-April due to the progress made on a possible ceasefire with Iran that would open the Strait of Hormuz. There is still a lot of concern as to where fuel/fertilizer prices will be this coming fall.
The USDA monthly Supply & Demand Report released on June 11th has ending stocks of the 2025 U.S. corn crop at an estimated 2.14 billion bushels and the 2026 crop at 1.96 billion bushels. World ending stocks were up for both the 2025-2026 crops, mostly up from increased production in South America. For soybeans, USDA left ending stocks unchanged at 340 million bushels for the 2025 crop, which is higher than the 2026 estimate of 310 million bushels. World ending stocks for soybeans were virtually unchanged from last month. What this all means is that unless there is a significant weather event or increase in demand, corn and soybean prices will likely be flat through the end of 2026.
Everyone here at Fairland continues to be busy. With the Power On Midwest Transmission Line project releasing proposed routes, there has been a lot of communication between us, our clients who are potentially impacted, and their tenants. We have sent out emails and communicated with all who have land within a possible corridor, so if you have not heard from us recently regarding this topic, your ground was not located in the path of a proposed route. We are also busy scouting/coordinating the herbicide applications in the soybeans, processing acreage certifications with the FSA and crop insurance agents, as well as dealing with the replant claims previously noted. The accounting staff continues to work on projections, cash-flows, and processing payments for crop inputs and depositing checks. Overall, it has been a busy start to summer!
Figure 4 – This field of soybeans was recently sprayed with the first post-emerge application. Within a few days after getting sprayed, the grass and weeds will shrivel up and die, allowing the soybeans to flourish.
Growing-Degree Days
| May 1, 2026 to DATE INDICATED | TOTAL GROWING DEGREE DAYS | DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL | |
| LOCATION Lamberton |
June 15, 2026 | 682 | +81 |
Corn Growing Degree Days are calculated by subtracting a 50 degree base temperature from the average of the maximum and minimum temperature for the day. The daily maximum is limited to 86 degrees and the minimum is 50 degrees.
Grain Markets (June 17, 2026)
| New Vision-Windom | Magnolia | POET Ethanol-Bingham Lake | Minnesota Soybean Processors- Brewster | |
| Cash-Corn | 3.81 | 3.80 | 3.86 | N/A |
| Cash-Soybeans | 10.72 | 10.84 | N/A | 11.22 |
| October-Corn | 3.99 | 3.93 | 3.98 | N/A |
| October-Soybeans | 10.70 | 10.74 | N/A | 10.94 |
Rainfall (Inches):
| County | City | May 15 – June 18, 2026 | March 15 to date-2026 | March 15 to date-2025 |
| Cottonwood | Jeffers | 3.4 | 6.5 | 7.6 |
| Cottonwood | Windom | 4.8 | 8.9 | 9.6 |
| Jackson | Heron Lake | 5.9 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| Jackson | Jackson | 4.9 | 9.3 | 10.1 |
| Martin | Trimont | 5.4 | 8.9 | 12.4 |
| Murray | Fulda | 6.0 | 10.5 | 8.0 |
| Murray | Slayton |
3.2 |
5.8 | 7.1 |
| Nobles | Round Lake | 3.3 | 7.3 | 11.5 |
| Nobles | Rushmore | 3.7 | 9.3 | 9.6 |
| Rock | Magnolia | 2.8 | 6.5 | 9.8 |
| Watonwan | Darfur | 4.5 | 7.7 | 9.7 |
Samuel Dammann
Farm Management Advisor
Klay D. Walinga
President, General Manager
Real Estate Broker
Accredited Farm Manager