News

Minimal IL planting progress

Illinois farmers made some planting progress last week, but weather challenges remain.

Shelby County farmer Matt Bennett says he’s not planted anything at this point.

“I’ve heard of a few beans getting planted to the south, but mostly groundwork.”  He says, “Overall there’s really not been a whole lot in the way of planting, you know, just hit and miss. Maybe a guy or two here and there, but not much at all.”

USDA’s weekly crop progress and condition report shows 3% of corn is planted, as is 4% of soybeans.  Both up slightly from last week.

“The heat over the weekend certainly has dried the top out.”  He says, “The fully tiled ground is probably getting pretty close, but of course we have more rain in the forecast here over the next 24 to 48 hours. So, I’d say if we missed some of that rain, there’ll be a ton of folks rolling within three or four days.”

The rains have helped recharge the soils.  Twenty one percent of the state’s subsoils are rated short or very short, an improvement over last week’s 27%. 

Winter wheat headed reached 5 percent, compared to the 5-year average of 3 percent, up 2 percent from last week. Only six percent of winter wheat is now rated in very poor or poor condition.

AUDIO: Matt Bennett – Shelby County farmer