Illinois corn maturing ahead of pace – Brownfield Ag News

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Illinois corn maturing ahead of pace

The USDA says the Illinois corn crop is maturing ahead of pace.

Gallatin County farmer Jeff Scates says his early harvest results are below expectations.

“Not quite as good as we had hoped for on the corn front.”  He says, “We also have cut some beans and we’re kind of up and down a little bit there too. They’ve tended to be drier as well as we get into them.”

The latest weekly crop progress and condition report shows 24% of the corn crop is mature, 13% ahead of normal.  Scates tells Brownfield moisture would still help the late planted crops.

“June corn still has a lot of green in it.”  He says, “It still has a lot of growing to do, at least filling out the kernels. It would definitely help that out a lot.”

The corn crop remains in good condition with 71% rated good to excellent.  Seventy percent is dented compared to 63% normally. 

Sixty eight percent of soybeans are in good to excellent condition and 14% are dropping leaves, which is 11% ahead of average.

Pasture conditions are 52% good to excellent.

Thirty one percent of Illinois topsoil moistures are rated short or very short, while only 2% are rated surplus.