DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- The 2025 crop season has been a story of extremes for Tyler Rath. Drowned out spots within fields still serve as a reminders of early season deluges. At the same time, non-irrigated field corners and dryland crops sizzled through most of July from lack of rainfall and unrelenting heat. The very last day of the month delivered a balm for all the stress when a soothing 1.3-inch slow soaker showed up across all of his acres.

Welcome to the dog days of summer when rain or lack of it can shape nearly every thought and action for farmers.

"We're lucky that we have irrigation on most of our acres to get us through July," said Rath, who hails from Belgrade, Minnesota. "Overall, the crops look good considering what they've been through. But I don't think I can ever remember a summer in my lifetime that has been this hot."

In Maryland, Chris Weaver also received some much-needed rainfall this week, but he'd welcome more. His season has been nearly the reverse of Rath's -- dry and hot early with just enough liquid hope to keep dreams for yields alive.

"I always try to stay optimistic, but I will admit this recent rain did a lot to restore my outlook. Our crops have held their yield potential because we take measures to mitigate stress. But that doesn't always relieve the farmer's stress when those rains don't come," said Weaver, who farms near Finksburg.

Weaver and Rath are participating this season in DTN's View From the Cab series. The feature takes readers to the field throughout the growing season by looking at crop conditions. Rural issues and life on the farm are also a part of this diary-like news report.

August might signal a time to coast toward harvest, but not for these farmers. Both remain busy with field operations as they wage the annual fights against weeds and diseases.

There are also other things that make this time of year special -- the sweet corn is ready and the pigs washed and headed to the county fair.

CHRIS WEAVER: FINKSBURG, MARYLAND

The sprayer is getting a workout this summer on Weaver's farm. The tram lines in his field show the sprayer makes eight or more in-season passes. This week he was hitting corn with cocktail of fungicide, insecticide, micronutrients and a small amount of slow-release nitrogen formulation enriched with boron designed for safe foliar feeding.

Weaver is a spoon feeder. His jam is figuring out what each crop needs and giving it just that amount to push every acre for more.

"Listen, I'm still worried," he confessed. "We started this season dry and the prospect of drought hasn't gone away totally.

"But I've been out counting pods and watching pod set and if we keep getting some rain, I think they are on track to be my best beans yet," he said. That's saying something since he had a non-irrigated, no-till soybean plot yield 156.73 bushels per acre (bpa) in 2025.

Pushing beans in a tough environment means staying true to the basics of making sure the crop is given everything it needs to fight stress, Weaver maintained.

"Getting those micronutrients -- such as potassium, cobalt and molly (molybdenum) to help root nodulation and efficiently utilize nitrogen is so important. It's all about keeping the plant healthy. The leaves on our soybeans are bigger than my hand. They work like big solar panels for the plant as photosynthesis consumes nutrients so the plant can grow. Everything we do is aimed at helping do that better when it is stressed," he said.

Corn is at brown silk and the crop pollinated during acceptable temperatures. If Weaver has any concerns, it is that growing degree units (GDU) piled up fast.

"We started slow and then got heat and everything skyrocketed," he noted. "I like it to be more of a show and steady process. I feel like the crop is about two weeks earlier than it usually is this time of year, even though we got planted timely for this area.

"That's why we continue to monitor and address plant needs late into the season. It's all part of helping the corn finish. I like to maximize ear fill to the tip," Weaver said.

Yield checks on corn are putting yields at 292 bpa, he added. "That's on 0.7 units of nitrogen per bushel applied. My goal is 300 (bpa). Reaching that will push that nitrogen efficiency number down further."

DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick said Weaver's area has good chances of more moisture to support those yields in the coming week.

"A front will be moving through on Sunday into Monday, Aug. 2-3, and should be bringing through a good chance for rain. That front could remain close by and make for another couple of chances for rain for Tuesday and Wednesday. And I wouldn't completely rule out a stray shower for the rest of the week," Baranick said.

"Temperatures should be increasing throughout the week though, so if showers don't make it in, we could see it getting stressful yet again. Another front moving through this coming weekend could bring some more showers, but getting some milder air might be tough," he added.

If there's anything that tempts rain more than cutting hay, it's county fair time. This week Weaver's children will exhibit nearly everything grown on the farm.

"They each have their own soybean, barley, rye and corn fields. We have a rule here that they aren't allowed to take crops out of Dad's fields," he said. While Dad does help with the mechanics of growing the crop, he said his children -- ages 11 and 9 -- aren't afraid to voice their own agronomic opinions.

"They ask a lot of questions," he said. "And they pull tissue samples and are learning to read the analysis."

Part of that on-farm learning also includes the realities of letting go of farm animals when the time comes. Pigs and lambs are also headed to the fair and there's been a lot of one-on-one time with the animals -- to the point that the children become attached, Weaver said.

"Not all of life's lessons are easy," Weaver said. "But I firmly believe there's no better place to teach and learn than the farm."

TYLER RATH: BELGRADE, MINNESOTA

Irrigating became life through most of July for Rath. While sensors and alerts help notify farmers, they don't fix pivot flat tires or the well pump when a shaft snaps.

The rain that fell on July 31 allowed Rath to push the pause button for a hot minute, at least. The U.S. Drought Monitor has been showing increasing dryness and drought in much of the area where Rath farms.

Baranick said another front is expected to move through on Aug. 3 or 4, which should bring some additional light showers and a return of milder air for the week.

In the meantime, Rath has been watching another "water" crisis in the form of the weed, common waterhemp.

"If we could just grow crops like we can grow waterhemp, we'd all be happy," he said. He was heading out to cultivate green beans -- planted behind peas -- for the second time this season. He's on the list but still waiting for a weeding crew to show up to manually tackle weeds in organic fields.

Competition for these hand weeding crews is intense, he noted. Crews cost $20 per hour per person.

"Depending on weed pressure in your field, the cost for these crews can amount to $200 per acre," Rath said. "That's an expensive pass, but so is letting those weeds go to seed."

Rath blames waterhemp's onery persistence on herbicide resistance. "The interesting thing is we don't see the same level of pressure in our organic fields," he reported. "Lambsquarters is a bigger issue in there."

A portion of Rath's crop pollinated during some high daytime temperatures and the nighttime temps didn't drop as much as he would have liked. The lower temperatures coming this week are comforting as the remainder of the crop goes through that critical growth period.

"I haven't done any yield checks yet, but really it is the yield monitor that has the final say," he said. One thing he's noticed is the corn is exceptionally tall this year.

Rath has had some good helpers this summer as his children have tagged along on many of those irrigation checks. He knows this recent rain is a temporary reprieve, but it was so needed. Kidney beans were really struggling; he noted they won't be harvested for another month.

Organic sweet corn being grown for commercial processing is just beginning to tassel. But the family garden is giving up volumes of sweet corn goodness. Besides their own use, Rath gifts ears to landlords and others who enjoy the taste of summer.

The realization that summer's days are shortening and the importance of family time caused Rath to close his mind to irrigation demands for a few hours recently and take the kids fishing.

"We didn't get a meal to feed the family, but we didn't get skunked either. Mostly, we had a lot of fun," he said. "Now, I need to take my wife on a date."

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform @PamSmithDTN

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