©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Illinois Crops Still Playing Catch-Up |
Corn and soybean development in Illinois is still inching its way closer to the recent past, but there's still a ways to go.
Last week's weather was good for crop progress, with temperatures in line with the average and normal precipitation. The USDA's weekly crop report says the state's farmers had an average of 5.7 days suitable for fieldwork, allowing them to spray fields for aphids and Japanese beetles and harvest oats.
USDA deputy chief crop statistician Mark Schleusener tells WGIL the corn crop is having a bit of a ying and yang going on. "The late planting season holding back things, but then some phenonemal, some wonderful weather in July that has really helped conditions," Schleusener said. "The crop is still behind. For example, 27 percent of the crop is now in the dough state, and that compares to 66 percent last year. The corn conditions are quite good. They're rated 20 percent excellent, and 53 percent good."
Corn is now 97-percent in the silked stage, an increase of 5 percent compared to two weeks ago and only two percent behind the five-year average. Five-percent of the crop is in the dent stage compared to 34 percent last year at this time and the five-year average of 27 percent.
Soybeans made nice gains last week with 84 percent of the crop blooming -- an increase of 10 percent -- and 55 percent of the beans are setting pods, up 24 percent from two weeks ago. But even with the gains, the numbers are still well behind last year's development and the five-year average.
Development of the corn and soybean crops in western Illinois is slightly ahead of the state averages. |
|
| 08 12 08 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specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion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.
