7am News, Sports and Obits
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download

Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download

Weather Prevents Much Harvest Progress

Illinois farmers will be trying to harvest crops for a long time if last week's weather becomes the norm the rest of the fall season. The majority of crops statewide are ready to be taken from the fields, but the USDA says weather conditions are making timely harvest very difficult to accomplish. Cold and rain dominated last week, with the statewide average temperature of 43.7 degrees coming in at nearly 12 degrees below normal. That was combined with about an inch of rain that's left farm fields in most of Illinois with an overabundance of topsoil moisture. USDA crop statistician Mark Schleusener says cold, wet conditions continue to delay the harvest. "There was very little progress in terms of harvesting crops in Illinois last week," Schleusener said. "Overall, corn harvest has reached 11%. That compares to 30% one year ago, and a five-year average of 68%." The harvest is moving even slower in western Illinois. Only seven percent of the corn is out of the ground and six percent of the soybeans have been harvested compared to the statewide average of 13 percent. The USDA rates the corn crop at 66 percent in good to excellent condition and soybeans at 63 percent. Last week's soggy conditions allowed farmers less than two full days to work in their fields.

10 21 09 by Newsroom

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.

©2009 Galesburg Broadcasting Company
2009 EEO Report