Illinois
Lack of moisture and high-heat days have Iowa locals concerned about cannibalized stalks, while Illinois considers impacts of wildfire smoke and overnight temps.
Hurricane-force winds swept from northern Missouri and Iowa all the way east to Illinois and Indiana. The derecho brought wind gusts up to 100 mph, flattening cornfields, but it also drenched soils with crucial rains.
Illinois crop ratings have dropped like a rock with only 33% of soybeans and 36% of corn rated good to excellent in this week’s USDA crop progress report.
Nestled in an old barn sat 8,000 mason jars filled with soil dating back to 1862. Now the plan is to revisit the 450 sampling locations spanning 21 million crop acres for insights into soil fertility and conservation.
State police said the pileups were caused by “excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, resulting in zero visibility.”
A filing Tuesday by the Department of Justice urged a federal court in Illinois not to throw out a class action suit that consolidated several farmers’ lawsuits against John Deere over repair restrictions.
Prime property near New Berlin, Ill., tops out at $15,500 an acre.
Dec. 17 auction sees 295 acres selling in one parcel for $14,400 an acre.
Official Midwest Crop Tour results from Illinois.