By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 6.6 days suitable for field work during the week ending September 19, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 73.2 degrees, 7.0 above normal. Precipitation averaged 0.18 inches, 0.71 inches below normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 11 percent very short, 27 percent short, 61 percent adequate, and 1 percent…… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.7 days suitable for field work during the week ending September 5, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 70.7 degrees, 0.8 degrees below normal. Precipitation averaged 1.24 inches, 0.58 inches above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 8 percent very short, 17 percent short, 67 percent adequate, and 8…… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – September yield forecast for 2021 season. Corn: Planted area is estimated at 11.0 million acres, down 3 percent from last year. Harvested area, forecast at 10.8 million acres, is down 3 percent from 2020. Based on September 1 conditions, the Illinois corn yield is forecast at a record 214 bushels per…… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.7 days suitable for field work during the week ending September 5, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 70.7 degrees, 0.8 degrees below normal. Precipitation averaged 1.24 inches, 0.58 inches above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 8 percent very short, 17 percent short, 67 percent adequate, and 8…… MORE
By RFD Radio DECATUR – The Farm Progress Show is back in person this year and gets underway Tuesday in Decatur. Show promoter Matt Jungmann says 90% of the event will be held outdoors. Those entering an indoor exhibit will be asked to wear a mask. Jungmann says there will be plenty to see and…… MORE
From USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.8 days suitable for field work during the week ending August 29, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 80.1 degrees, 6.5 degrees above normal. Precipitation averaged 0.82 inches, 0.02 inches above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 5 percent very short, 20 percent short, 70 percent adequate, and 5 percent…… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 6.4 days suitable for field work during the week ending August 22, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 74.9 degrees, 1.1 degrees above normal. Precipitation averaged 0.38 inches, 0.33 inches below normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 5 percent very short, 31 percent short, 56 percent adequate, and…… MORE
From USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 4.6 days suitable for field work during the week ending August 15, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 76.9 degrees, 3.2 degrees above normal. Precipitation averaged 1.70 inches, 0.80 inches above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 2 percent very short, 12 percent short, 76 percent adequate, and 10…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The first look at the 2021 crop yield forecast is here, and hopes are high. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service survey projects yields of 214 bushels of corn per acre and 64 bushels of soybeans in Illinois. Both would be records. Nationally, the forecast for bushels per acre is…… MORE
From USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 6.2 days suitable for field work during the week ending August 08, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 72.3 degrees, 1.5 degrees below normal. Precipitation averaged 0.10 inches, 0.85 inches below normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 8 percent very short, 17 percent short, 70 percent adequate, and 5…… MORE
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.” …
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…
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…
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…