The amount of nitrogen lost to heavy rains depends on several factors, but the major one is the form of nitrogen applied, according to University of Kentucky Ag Extension.

Corn planted in early May under less than ideal conditions or pounded by rain is just coming up.

Planting progress may have been slowed by the recent precipitation, but weed emergence continues despite wet field conditions.

Even though temperatures have cooled and rainfall has eased drought conditions in some parts of the Corn Belt, worries about drought conditions remain elsewhere.

Last week, I was finally able to hit the road to visit some farms and see what no-tillers have been up to this summer. I was also anxious to see, with my own eyes, how crops were doing during this historic drought.

After an April that brought record rainfall to much of Indiana and Ohio, climatologists agree the weather pattern is improving - a welcome change for farmers in both states.

One advantage proponents of no-till have championed for years is getting on their no-till fields without making ruts long before their neighbors in conventional tillage can run. Sometimes there's a day's difference after a heavy rain. As it turns out, that's a mixed blessing.