A wet spring and a cool summer have put many Stateline corn farmers behind schedule. Local farmer Bill Gensler says about half of Ogle county's crop is only knee high. Winnebago county is in better shape, but they are also behind.

"It's just about tasseling time and it should be tasseling real soon, but we need some warmer weather to help it mature." says Bernie Walsh, a Winnebago County corn farmer.

Historically knee high by the Fourth of July hasn't been a bad thing, but new corn hybrids require a longer growing season and now farmers like to see corn this high in June.

Gensler's sweet corn crop is way behind. In over thirty years of farming this is only the second time he hasn't had sweet corn by mid July. He is hoping this cool July will turn into a hot August.

"If we don't get enough heat it could be very serious. You always hope if there is a bad corn crop the prices will go up, but this year it's not working that way. The prices have been going down and the corn crop doesn't look that great." says Gensler.

Even if the weather doesn't cooperate locally, don't expect a corn shortage at the grocery store. Corn producing giants Iowa and Nebraska have had great growing conditions. Which means the only people feeling the pinch in a bad harvest are local farmers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is predicting a great corn crop nationally. Largely because of this prediction corn prices have stayed low, which will further hurt Stateline farmers if this cool weather pattern doesn't change.