(The Center Square) – The 2024 Illinois corn and soybean harvest is nearing an end.
Conditions have been dry for most of Illinois this fall, allowing farmers to harvest this year’s crop quicker than in the past few years.
“Rainfall averaged 0.28 inches across Illinois and that was three-tenths of an inch drier than normal for this time of year,” said Mark Schleusener, Illinois State Statistician with the United States Department of Agriculture. “Northern areas received more rainfall than southern parts of the state.”
The dry conditions have led to field fires in recent weeks, mostly in east-central Illinois. Some fires have broken out even after a field was harvested. The USDA reports topsoil moisture supply was rated 28% very short, 52% short, and only 20% adequate.
As of Sunday, the corn harvest reached 87% complete. That is compared to 78% percent last year at this time, and a 5-year average of 73%. Illinois is the second leading corn producer in the U.S.
The soybean harvest is also nearing completion. The soybean harvest reached 90% Sunday, which is compared to the 5-year average of 80%.
Farmer Andy Dole and Statistician Mark Schleusener talk about why the harvest is so far ahead of schedule this year.
Andy Dole, who farms in Coles County, said he expects the soybean yield to be close to 70 bushels an acre.
“That is somewhere from 7 to 10 percent lower than last year,” said Dole. “Too much rain at the wrong time and not enough when we needed the rain.”
Illinois is the top soybean producer in the country, followed by Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana. The four states collectively grow 49% of the nation’s soybeans.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
