Harvest inches toward completion

Posted on November 13, 2019
The Illinois corn harvest is only about three-quarters complete according to the latest weekly crop report from the USDA. (WJBC file photo)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – As late in the season as it is, the harsh weather can’t do much damage to the crops. Mark Schleusener, USDA state statistician for the National Agricultural Statistics Service, says the biggest problem for some farmers might be having enough propane for their corn dryers.

Corn is 71 percent harvested, and soybeans are 87 percent harvested. In a typical year, they would be almost all done.

The weather for the week ending Sunday was six to nine inches cooler than normal, with precipitation next to nothing.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]. 

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…