Corn and soybean harvest in full swing around the state

By Ryne Turke on September 27, 2016 at 11:41am

Crop statistician Mark Schleusener recaps the current numbers and says big progress is right around the corner.

“Corn harvest reached 24 percent complete, compared to 25 percent last year and the five year average. Eighty-eight percent of the crop is now mature, up 25 points from a week ago and ahead of the normal pace,” says Schleusener.

“The percent of soybean acres dropping leaves jumped 31 points to 62 percent complete. That is seven points behind last year and the same as the five year average. The condition of the soybean crop is rated five percent very poor to poor, 15 percent fair and 80 percent good to excellent. That is slightly better than a week ago.”

In the West Southwest District, 92 percent of corn is mature and 37 percent has been harvested. As for soybeans, 93 percent of the crop is turning color, 70 percent is dropping leaves and seven percent is harvested.

West Southwest District farmers received six suitable days for fieldwork last week.

Topsoil in the local district was one percent very short, four percent short, 86 percent adequate and nine percent surplus. Subsoil for the week was one percent very short, three percent short, 92 percent adequate and four percent surplus.

Temperatures saw a big boost from normal this past week. The West Southwest saw an average temperature of 76 degrees, more than 13 degrees hotter than normal. The state’s average temperature for the week was 74 degrees.

Barely any rainfall hit Illinois this past week. The local district didn’t report any precipitation. The average rainfall total for this week was around an eighth of an inch.