Giovani Preza Fontes

Cover crops are making their appearance in Urbana. Photos taken today, 2 weeks after planting, and show good emergence across plots @ILextension @IllinoisNrec

Drone view of our on-farm wheat/double-crop soybean trial: early-season soybean is mature, while full-season soybean is still dropping leaves. Final year of the study. Stay tuned for a project report this winter 🌱📊 📷@bowmannd 📍Piatt County 
@SoybeanScience1 @ILextension

Cover crops and small grains add management, but they also add opportunities to ⬆️ agroecosystem benefits. Yesterday our crew was headed in multiple directions: harvesting soybean, planting cover crops, and fertilizing wheat. A busy day in the field! 🌱🌾🚜 
@ILextension

Another site planted for our @IllinoisNrec cover crop management project. 
📍 UI Research Farm, Urbana 
@ILextension

Plots are in the ground! Another on-farm cover crop trial was planted yesterday for an @IllinoisNrec-funded project focused on cover crop management. Looking forward to tracking establishment and performance. 
📍 Iroquois County 
@ILextension

Wrapping up a 3-year @ILSoybean funded project on row spacing and starter fertilizer in no-till soybean. Yields were 80+ bpa!
Looking forward to sharing the final results this winter—stay tuned 🌱📊 @ILextension @SoybeanScience1 @FieldAdvisor

Field update: We're underway! The first trial was planted last week for an @IllinoisNrec-funded project focused on cover crop management. 
📍 Shelby County @ILextension @ACESIllinois

Compared with last season, the story of the 2026 Illinois corn crop has been water (often too much), not drought Final kernel wt during the next few weeks will help decide whether IL matches the USDA estimate of 212 bu/ac @ILextension @ilcorn

RT @SoybeanScience1: Every soybean growth stage brings new challenges, as well as new opportunities! As we move through August, now is a great time to review the key risks, management considerations, and common misconceptions for the later reproductive stages. Check out this factsheet to learn more: #SoyCheckoff #ScienceForSuccess

RT @cropforageturf: 🌱 Managing double-crop soybean in central Illinois A 2-year study found that adapted full-season varieties performed well after wheat, while higher seeding rates helped maximize yield. Read more:

Field update: A good example of tip-back in corn from a Champaign County field planted 5/21. kernel set and size are still fairly good for decent yields (~500 kernels/ear), but probably not 240+ bu/ac

🎉 Congratulations to my student Federico Rolle for presenting his research (@IllinoisNrec funded) and earning 1st place at the 2026 NUE Workshop! @IllinoisCropSci @ACESIllinois

Happy to share our latest paper in @cropforageturf where we evaluated MG, seeding rate, and starter N+S fertilizer for double-crop soybean in an on-farm study in central Illinois 📍 Piatt Co @ILextension @SoybeanScience1 @FieldAdvisor Read more:

Field update: mid-April planted soybean in Champaign county is entering the seed-filling stage. 🌱at R5, seed is 1:8” long in one of the four uppermost nodes on the main stem. Water and nutrient demand are high during this period @ILextension @SoybeanScience1 @FieldAdvisor

Exploring double-crop soybean potential in northern Illinois. Soybean at the Monmouth REC had a good stand and was at V2 when checked last week. @ILextension @SoybeanScience1

Crew sampling R2 tissue today in the @ILSoybean funded tillage, cover crop, row spacing study! 📍Piatt County @ILextension

Excess June rainfall raised concerns about flooding, root recovery, and N availability in Illinois corn. Few thoughts on what research and field observations tell us heading into pollination @ILextension @ilcorn

RT @corn_network: The 2026 CORN Network Annual Meeting brought together Extension specialists across the U.S. to strengthen collaborations and plan future corn research initiatives. Thank you to everyone who helped make this year's meeting a success. @INCornFarmers @NationalCorn @BecksHybrids

Checked plots in Urbana yesterday. Late‑planted soybeans have struggled with the cool & wet June. June 6 planting is at V1. Warmer temps ahead will be much needed.

NASS typically reports soybean blooming at 1-2% in the last week of June. 🌱April 9 soybean in NW Illinois at V7, good stand/canopy, and starting to flower