Statistician Schleusener sums up mid-June crop conditions
Statistician Schleusener sums up mid-June crop conditions
Mark Schleusener, who serves as chief crop statistician for Illinois as well as for the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) home page, recently issued an updated summary of crop conditions and yield for farmers.
Information was reported for the benefit of Prairie State planters to keep pace with weather conditions and optimize their crop yields. Overall, warm, dry weather helped with planting across Illinois.
“The statewide average temperature was above normal and rainfall below normal,” Schleusener said, “leaving six days suitable for fieldwork.”
With soybean planting having reached 90 percent completion, 78 percent of the crop has emerged, just one point behind normal, said the chief statistician. The soybean ropes condition is now rated as 4 percent very poor to poor, 21 as fair and 75 percent as good to excellent.
In addition, 97 percent of corn acres have emerged compared to 99 percent one year ago, precisely hitting the average amount. The crop condition is now rated as 5 percent being very poor to poor, 20 percent as fair and 75 percent as good to excellent.
Sorghum is halfway to complete planting, while winter wheat harvesting is just beginning. Two-thirds of oats (66 percent) have headed.
Average topsoil moisture measurements were reported as 1 percent very short, 17 percent short, 75 percent adequate and 7 percent surplus.
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