http://www.martinfamilyfarms.org/

Martin Family Farms, Central, IL (2026)

08/07/2026

Dad had the fantastic honor of being inducted into the No-Till/Strip Till Hall of Fame today at their annual convention. What a great honor for him and our family.

07/23/2026

If I said "high amounts of evapotranspiration occurring next week!", many of you would get that glossy look in your eye.

But if I said "corn sweat returns next week!", you'll know exactly what I'm referring too.

Corn sweat is the term that's used to describe how large amounts of water are transpired off of agricultural plants. They add to the already muggy air and can make the corn belt the muggiest place in the United States late summer. Sometimes those dewpoints can hit 80°, an exceptionally high number representative of tons of water v***r in the air.

A single acre of corn during peak maturity can release 3,000-4,000 gallons of water per day. That water v***r does have a role in impacting our weather;

1) Adding extra water v***r actually has a cooling effect on our temperatures. The actual air temperature can't climb as high when it's very humid because the energy from the sun used to heat the air has to heat both the air and the water v***r within it. It is rare for us to hit 100° now, we used to do it more routinely before the 1990s. Now, it's rare for us to hit 100°, we generally only can do it during severe drought conditions. It's not a drastic drop, but is a noted trend. As crop yields have gone up, so has water movement and water v***r in the air increases, leading to a lower probability to physically hit 100°

2) Increasing heat indices is the trade-off. While we maybe don't hit 100°, our heat index values are hotter because of how muggy the air. When the air is full of water v***r, our body cannot ev***rate sweat as efficiently on our skin and therefore cannot cool us off as much. We're seeing higher heat index values because of the increased water v***r, and seeing 120-130° heat index values is becoming more common for at least a couple days each summer. The way to think about heat index values is it's a look at how our bodies respond and can cool us off. The heat index value has the same impact on our bodies if there was no humidity, aka a "dry heat". So, a 95° day that feels like 120 would have the similar effect on our bodies as a 120° day with dry air.

No, the corn doesn't physically sweat in the heat (but there are processes that can release physical water from the plant!) Rather, it's just water passing through the plant and releasing as water v***r in the air.