News

Rain welcomed in east central Illinois

An east central Illinois certified crop advisor says weekend rains were needed.

Kris Ehler, who’s based in Champaign County, says some farms saw up to three inches of beneficial moisture.

“We’ve been pretty dry the last two and a half weeks.”  He says, “You really started to see the soybeans starting to stress and then you saw some corn rolling up a little bit. The earlier planted corn was holding its own. The later planted corn was really pineappled because it just didn’t have that root system underneath.”

According to the USDA, 68% of Illinois corn is in good to excellent condition, down 3% on the week, with 21% silking and 1% in dough stage.  Fifty-four percent of soybeans are in good condition, even with last week, with 38% blooming and 5% setting pods.

Ehler tells Brownfield, “We had a great planting season.”  He says, “A lot of beans went in early; a lot of corn went in early; everything looked really good. We had a handful of replant scenarios on some timber ground. So, this rain is exactly what we needed to keep us on pace for another good crop.”

Eighty-seven percent of winter wheat is harvested. 

Fifty-eight percent of pastures are rated good to excellent condition, with 41% of alfalfa second cutting complete.

AUDIO: Kris Ehler