PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Illinois’ harvest season is now in the home stretch.
When it comes to the numbers, 81% of corn and 89% of soybeans have been reported. Both percentages are ahead of schedule, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Here in Central Illinois, the drought gave farmers a scare, but the crops were able to pull through, according to Peoria County Farm Bureau manager Patrick Kirchhofer.
“It’s not a record-breaker, especially for corn because we’ve had some really good yields the last couple of years, but it’s still excellent compared to the 10-year average,” he said.
Kirchhofer added that the only recent holdups have been that some of the corn crop has had a hard time drying out and that there have been some issues with the grain elevators.
However, when asked if the recent frost had caused problems for the crops, Kirchhofer said it actually helped the soybean crop.
“If you get a good, hard frost on weeds or grass that are in there, they will go through the combine much easier,” Kirchhofer said.
He added that the harvest should be finished by Thanksgiving, if not sooner. He said some local farmers are reporting 200 bushels of corn per acre and 70 bushels of soybeans per acre.
