(USDA) – There were 4.7 days suitable for field work during the week ending October 24, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 54.1 degrees, 1.8 degrees above normal. Precipitation averaged 0.70 inches, 0.02 inches above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 2 percent very short, 8 percent short, 65 percent adequate, and 25 percent surplus.…… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 2.7 days suitable for field work during the week ending October 17, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 61.4 degrees, 5.5 above normal. Precipitation averaged 1.83 inches, 1.23 above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 1 percent very short, 6 percent short, 72 percent adequate, and 21 percent surplus.…… MORE
By USDA (Weekly Progress Report) There were 4.2 days suitable for field work during the week ending October 10, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 68.8 degrees, 12.2 above normal. Precipitation averaged 0.88 inches, 0.21 above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 4 percent very short, 17 percent short, 74 percent adequate, and 5 percent…… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD -There were 6.0 days suitable for field work during the week ending October 3, 2021. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 9 percent very short, 18 percent short, 71 percent adequate, and 2 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supply was rated 8 percent very short, 29 percent short, 62 percent adequate, and 1 percent…… MORE
In the pumpkin capital of the world, the pumpkin crop is “surprisingly good” after a wet summer.… MORE
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.5 days suitable for field work during the week ending September 26, 2021. Statewide, the average temperature was 64.0 degrees, 2.7 above normal. Precipitation averaged 1.21 inches, 0.38 inches above normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 11 percent very short, 29 percent short, 58 percent adequate, and 2 percent…… MORE
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 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…