Significant corn planting progress is being made by Illinois producers.
The latest USDA crop report shows an average of four and a half days suitable for fieldwork this past week.
Crop statistician Mark Schleusener provides the statistics.
“Producers pushed corn planting to 42 percent complete, up 30 points from a week ago, 16 points ahead of a year ago and 17 points ahead of the five year average. Four percent of corn acres have emerged, compared to six percent normally,” says Schleusener.
The local district is reporting that 64 percent of the corn crop has been planted. Fourteen percent of that crop has emerged.
Soybeans are finally in the ground in Illinois. The crop report shows two percent of the crop has been planted, similar to the five year average.
The West Southwest District has planted five percent of the soybean crop.
Local topsoil was 17 percent short, 79 percent adequate and four percent surplus. Subsoil was one percent very short, nine percent short, 87 percent adequate and three percent surplus.
Temperatures were up for the week in Illinois. The average state temperature came to 60.8 degrees, five degrees hotter than normal. The West Southwest reported an average temperature of 62.5 degrees for the week.
Precipitation was down slightly for the week. The West Southwest received half an inch of rainfall, compared to the state average of 0.78 inches.