Corn Belt Agronomists Share One Word to Sum Up the 2025 Growing Season

With harvest nearly wrapped up across the U.S., we asked agronomists to reflect on the 2025 season. According to the USDA Crop Progress report released on Nov. 17, 91% of the U.S. corn crop and 95% of the U.S. soybean crop had been harvested. Across the Corn Belt, the growing season left its mark.

Threatened

In Illinois, Phil Krieg, agronomy service representative for Syngenta Crop Protection, summarized the season by the word “threatened.”

 “The corn crop was threatened by late planting due to too much rain—wettest April on record,” Krieg said. “The threat continued throughout May and June for many. July saw a rainy period as well.”

But that moisture didn’t stick around in Krieg’s territory.  

“Then drought set in during late July, and many producers went almost 90 days before receiving a measurable rain.”

For the week ending Nov. 16, 72% of the state’s subsoil moisture conditions were either very short or short, and 66% of the topsoil moisture conditions were very short to short.

Next, Illinois farmers had to deal with the threat of disease.

“Southern Rust threatened corn throughout the area, and the decision to apply fungicides timely was very difficult as growers’ checkbooks were also threatened, and many were not prepared to spray,” Krieg shared.

Frustrating

Travis Gustafson, agronomic service representative for Syngenta Crop Protection in Nebraska, found the season to be frustrating.

“Typically, when we have challenging growing conditions, the markets reward us for our efforts,” Gustafson said. “This year it seems like no matter how hard we tried and how much effort we put into the crop, we just aren’t getting the reward that hard work usually creates.”

USDA said 74% of the corn crop in Nebraska had been harvested as of Nov. 16, compared to 97% harvested at this time last year.

Extreme

In Iowa, Eric Wilson, Wyffels agronomic manager, shared that the season brought extremes.

“Disease pressure, unrelenting warm overnight temperatures, and record rainfall all during the same period put a tremendous amount of pressure on this year’s crop in my covered areas.”

In Iowa, 97% of the corn crop had been harvested by Nov. 16, the same as at this time last year.

Potential

Nick Groth, agronomic service representative for Syngenta Crop Protection in Wisconsin, shared that “potential” described the 2025 season for him.

“In general, the weather was very conducive to producing a tremendous crop in 2025,” Groth said. “Growers who managed the crop well, especially those who successfully managed late season disease in corn, were able harvest well-above-average yields throughout much of Wisconsin.”

And “potential” applies even to northern Wisconsin, where “too much moisture led to a struggling crop for the first half of the season,” Groth said. “Although not evident at midseason, these crops still had potential. I have seen reports of strong yields even in these environments, as long as the grower didn’t give up on the crop, continued to manage it for high yields, and was able to effectively manage late season disease.”

In Wisconsin, the USDA reported that 86% of the corn crop had been harvested by Nov. 16.

Ideal

Tim Dahl, agronomic service representative for Syngenta Crop Protection in Minnesota, shared that the 2025 season was ideal.

“Not everywhere, but in most geographies across Minnesota the growing season was pretty much ideal,” said Dahl. “It was ideal for the corn and soybean crop, it was ideal for weeds to grow, and it was ideal for pathogens to flourish on the crop.”

In Minnesota, 100% of the corn crop had been harvested by Nov. 16.