Tractors and combines are hitting the fields as West Central Illinois moves forward with seasonal harvest.
In the local district, 97-percent of corn acres are dented, 74-percent have reached the mature stage and ten-percent are harvested, up seven-percent from a week ago. As for local soybeans, 70-percent are turning color and 32-percent are dropping leaves.
For the rest of Illinois, state crop statistician Mark Schleusener provides those numbers.
“Sixty-three percent of acres are now mature compared to 73-percent last year and 62-percent normally. The condition of the corn crop was rated three-percent very poor-to-poor, 12-percent fair and 85-percent good-to-excellent. Seventy percent of acres are turning color, five points behind last year and the same as the five-year average. The condition of the soybean crop was rated five-percent very poor-to-poor, 15-percent fair and 80-percent good-to-excellent, slightly better than last week,” says Schleusener.
Topsoil moisture in the West Southwest District was two-percent short, 85-percent adequate and 13-percent surplus. Local subsoil moisture was two-percent short, 90-percent adequate and eight-percent surplus.
The West Southwest District experienced 4.3 days suitable and 1.12 inches of precipitation. The average local temperature reached 71.7 degrees, almost a full degree higher than the statewide average of 70.9 degrees.