DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- Nature packs a lot of health benefits into the common kidney bean. Their contributions to heart health, digestive wellness, weight management and regulating blood sugar are well documented for consumers.

The stress level for farmers who grow them can be another story.

"It's not that kidneys are hard to grow exactly, but there's extra management and timing involved," said Tyler Rath. Weather extremes have made those tasks more complicated this year for Rath who includes dark red, light red and white kidney beans in the mix of crops he grows near Belgrade, Minnesota.

Among those challenges has been a boiling summer heat that's pushed the crop about two weeks earlier than normal. Getting ready for harvest has been pushed into fast forward and pickers are expected to roll this coming week (Aug. 17).

In Maryland, Chris Weaver and his corn and soybean crops near Finksburg have received the blessing of well-timed rains. He's leaned heavily on real-time tissue testing to diagnose what the crop needs to thrive. The additional hormones and nutrients deployed have helped mitigate crop stress, he reported, but keeping everything applied in a timely manner has also kept the farm crew hopping this summer.

Welcome to the late season "have I done enough" crunch. Add worries of further weather whammies and the current input price squeeze and a laundry list of planning decisions that need to be made both pre- and post-harvest. The struggle to juggle can be real.

This week, Weaver and Rath talk about the importance of remembering to tend mental health and state of mind when pressures mount. The farmers are providing reports about the condition of their crops and other aspects of farm life as part of DTN's View From the Cab project.

The farmers also size up the potential of their crop compared to 2026 DTN's Digital Yield Tour estimates. Find complete coverage of those DTN yield estimates here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Read on to learn more about what's happening on these Minnesota and Maryland farms this week.

CHRIS WEAVER: FINKSBURG, MARYLAND

"Not cold, but not hateful" is how Weaver describes the current weather scenario in central Maryland. Recent rains have brought some relief from rollercoaster heat and drought.

The five-year USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) averages for Carroll County where he farms are 163.0 bushel per acre (bpa) for corn and 46.9 bpa for soybeans. DTN's 2026 early-August yield estimate was 152.5 bpa and 52.1 bpa, respectively.

Although he knows these figures are averages, they still make Weaver flinch. He manages his 1,000-acre farm intensively and he admits to be perpetually optimistic.

"I think I'm looking at one of the best yield potentials of my farming career -- especially on soybeans," Weaver said. "Having said that, there's a lot of season left and only the yield monitor knows for sure."

Weekly pod counts show his soybeans continue to bloom and set pods at the top of the plant this year.

"But the really interesting thing is we are still filling pods at the bottom of the plant. Our pod counts are higher than last year and we're counting more four-bean pods and they are in clusters," Weaver observed. "I'm seeing about the same number of three-bean pods and hardly any twos or ones."

In the past, he put a priority on five-bean pod discoveries. But he's backed off on that hunt and put more priority on the size of the beans. He put a drone up over all the crops this week. Some fungicide is still going out on corn.

"I'm thinking we have one more foliar nutrition pass on both crops. I am just not done finishing these crops yet," he said.

Weaver likes to keep an accounting of the expense of the added inputs. He's running budgets on soybeans, for example, based on $10 per bushel price levels.

"Figuring in the next couple of passes I'm expecting, my breakeven point on soybean is 69 bpa," he said. "That counts every pass with a sprayer, land costs, fuel, seed, inputs and labor of $40 per hour. We are well positioned to exceed that."

Weaver reaches for and continues to test biological products from a variety of companies. He thinks he's done a better job this year of providing crops what they need before they became overly stressed.

"The first time I hit 150-bushel soybeans, I got a little bit arrogant and thought I knew a lot," he said. "But farming can make you humble fast. I'm learning what I don't know and every year we figure out new things. The big thing I've learned is keep feeding the plant even when you think you are in trouble. And don't be afraid to ask for help or go to suppliers and learn from them."

A network to turn to is important for Weaver, but so is having a supportive wife and family.

"We try not to get too excited or upset around here," he said. "I might get mad at times. But we don't stay mad. That might sound small, but we honestly assess disagreements and talk about how to fix whatever it is. It's really important to have a work and family culture that concentrates on picking others up if they are down. I'm blessed to be surrounded by really good people," he said.

Weaver said his mornings start at sunrise, drinking a cup of coffee and looking out the kitchen window across the farmstead where generations of his family have toiled so he can have this life.

"This early morning ritual reminds me how lucky I am. I love everything about this life and that includes figuring out the challenges that come with it," he said. "It doesn't mean I can't get down when times get tough, but part of getting through that is putting family and faith first. The farm does not define me."

The rest of the family likes to go to the beach to get a break. For Weaver, rounds of golf with a handful of "goofball" friends provide stress relief. Sometimes just being around friends and talking about nothing important is just what is needed.

There's a good month to go before combines start to roll in this area, Weaver estimated. But the combine is in the shop being prepared for harvest. Cattle trailers are getting new brakes, bearings and bushings. A new drone was being tested this week.

Temperatures are expected to stay in the 80s Fahrenheit this week in the Finksburg area. DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick said there will be chances of rain each day, but the likelihood of getting much is low until late in the week.

"It's interesting that the U.S. Drought Monitor updated to put all of the East Coast's drought in the long-range designation, indicating that recent showers have been enough to pull them out of short-term, or agricultural drought," Baranick said.

TYLER RATH: BELGRADE, MINNESOTA

Temperatures moderated in central Minnesota this week. However, another hailstorm found some of Rath's double-crop soybean acres and one organic sweet corn field.

Baranick expected the area could see chances of rain during this weekend (Aug. 15-16) and another opportunity from a front again on Aug. 18.

"Models don't agree on where that front will settle though, and that could mean some more chances for rain on Wednesday and beyond, or maybe not," Baranick said. "Despite that, temperatures are still expected to be quite comfortable for mid-August, largely in the 70s, which would be below normal. The forecast could be a few degrees too warm or cold depending on where that front settles in. And I would expect temperatures to start rising toward the weekend, but only into the lower 80s."

Rath will watch those forecasts as kidney bean harvest ratchets up this coming week. He aims for 18% harvest moisture and it is tricky to hit. Kidney beans dry fast, especially if it is hot and windy.

Minnesota is a national leader in commercial dark and light red kidney bean production. Rath delivers his production to Bonanza Bean (one hour away) or heads farther down the road to Chippewa Valley Bean (about three hours away).

Because kidney bean pods hang close to the ground, he uses a special cutter that lifts, undercuts and windrows the plant in one process. An edible bean combine follows to thresh the beans.

The investment in equipment is a consideration when getting into this crop, Rath noted. Kidney beans have a few other quirky production things, too. If beans are planted too deep or are slow to emerge, they can develop a thickened stem and leaf out underground. White mold can be a problem if the canopy grows lush.

"This hot year probably helped us avoid white mold," Rath said. "But the hardest thing about growing kidneys is deciding when to desiccate them. They don't grow evenly in a good weather year and a year like this makes the decision harder. Do you wait to get all the green beans because there can sometimes be a lot of them and take the chance the others will get away because they are too dry and shatter? It's a delicate balance."

Kidney bean yields will likely be about average, he anticipated. Some of his production had hail early, which set them back slightly.

"When you look at them from the road, they look amazing. Get out in them and there are tons of pods, but many of them are not filled," he said. Irrigated kidney beans have fared better, but heat caused some pod abortion there too, Rath noted.

Light red kidney beans typically fill to about six beans per pod. Dark red kidneys may have eight beans per pod. Rath also noted that the size of the beans are not quite as large this year.

Rath noted that dryland corn and soybean crops in his area have taken a severe turn this past week. Irrigated ground is faring better, he noted, but heat has hurt potential.

The RMA five-year corn average for Stearns County is 167.4 bpa. The DTN Digital Yield Tour estimate was 183.2 bpa. Rath said his irrigated corn should make that in fields where it was not hail damaged. He assessed a field this week that received hail at V6 growth stage to have 23,000 harvestable ears that calculated to 150 bpa.

Soybeans for Stearns County have a five-year RMA average of 47.2 bpa. The DTN Yield Tour estimate was 51.1 bpa.

Rath is just beginning to see some corn start dent. He expects to be chopping dryland corn for silage a little earlier than normal this year.

On the farm, the third cutting of hay has been cut and baled. Some steers were shipped for butchering this week. The summer is whizzing by.

"We have had the best sweet corn season we've ever had though," he said about the garden patch. "Emergence and weed control was great. And we were proactive in getting the raccoon fence up this year."

When it comes to taking care of his personal health, Rath said he's probably not as attentive as he should be. He's heard that a few times from his wife, who has a health practice with a focus on wellness.

"There are obviously times when farming gets stressful. Sometimes things get said to others that probably aren't meant. But at the end of the day, I believe it is important to keep looking at the bigger picture," he said.

"I try to keep a positive attitude and know that there's a reason something happens, even if you don't know why. It helps if you can keep guiding to that true North and to know that it's not going to be like this forever.

"If I let everything that happens to us in a day get me down, I wouldn't make it past noon," he added.

The physical aspects of farming help him process, too. Farmers today do sit more than they did in the past, but Rath said there is no shortage of steps when you are constantly scouting fields and checking pivots.

"Yesterday we spent four hours sweating in a cornfield working on an irrigation unit -- carrying tires, gearboxes and tools in and out of the cornfield. That's a better workout than going to a gym," he said.

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

Follow her on social platform X @PamSmithDTN

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