News

Illinois corn and soybean planting ahead of average, so far

Corn and soybean planting are both 4 percentage points ahead of average in Illinois to start the 2021 season.

The amount of corn planted reached 12% as of Sunday, up from 5% the previous week. Soybean planting reached 5%, the first recorded number for this year.

Winter wheat is rated 69% good to excellent, a drop of 4 points on the week, with 5% of the crop headed.

Statewide there were nearly five days suitable for fieldwork last week with an average temperature of 49 degrees, 3 degrees below normal and average precipitation of 0.14 inches, 0.83 below average.

Forecasted snow and freezing temperatures in parts of the state this week could slow planting progress or negatively impact crops already in the ground.