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Harvest Helped by Good Weather Last Week; Still Behind
The sun and Mother Nature were both shining brightly on Illinois' farm fields last week. That's according to the weekly crop progress report from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois Field Office.

Chief Crop Statistician Brad Schwab says temperatures were almost seven degrees above normal on average, and very little precipitation. Here in the western district, for example, the average temperature last week was just over 62-degrees, with three-quarters of an inch of precipitation.

Schwab says after what was a slow start to the season, farmers are clearly happy with all the extra time they can get. "Even though October sixth, on average, is the first chilling frost in the State of Illinois...we're past that date and we've not had that occur yet," Schwab said. "That's given the corn and soybean crops additional time to finish out the season, to mature, and to realize their full potential as far as yields are concerned."

Schwab says corn and soybeans are, for the most part, in good to excellent shape. 20-percent of corn has been harvested, well behind last year and the five year averages. Soybeans are 45-percent out of the ground -- also well behind averages.

In the western district, only 13-percent of corn, and 38-percent of soybeans have been harvested.
10 15 08 by Newsroom
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