By Dave Dahl/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois farmers enjoyed a weather respite for the week just past.
“Overall, both temperatures and precipitation were below normal,” said state statistician Mark Schleusener of the USDA in Illinois. “State average topsoil moisture supply is one percent short, 52 adequate, and 47 surplus.”
Schleusener said good-to-excellent conditions are found in only 61 percent of corn and 52 percent of soybeans. That, he says, points to a fairly good year. “In some areas, there’s quite a large pond that’s been flooded for days … and (typically) the rest of the field is probably pleasantly wet.”
The corn is 26 percent silked and soybeans are 15 percent blooming, slightly off the long-term averages.
