This year, Illinois farmers are experiencing unique yields depending on where they live.
In southern parts of the state, like Carbondale, they report some of the best crops ever. But Illinois State Farm Bureau District 2 Director Earl Williams said it’s a different story further north in the Decatur, Champaign and Bloomington areas.
"Their yields are down 10-15% from what they’ve been averaging the last few years," he said, "and I think you could say that same thing up in northern Illinois."
A farmer himself, Williams said it's been a challenging year not because of the pandemic, but because of the August drought.
"I think I had about a half an inch of rain in the whole month," he said, "which really affected my soybean yields."
Williams said his soybean yields were down 15-20% and added that his corn yields were also affected.
When asked what percentage of corn and soybeans are in from the Illinois fields, he said the state's farmers are ahead of schedule. The USDA reports that the corn in Illinois is 66% harvested versus a five-year average of 65%. And soybeans are 81% harvested versus 60-66% for a five-year average.
Further north in Wisconsin, it's a different story. They are at 20% for the corn crop, which is consistent with their five-year average. However, farmers there have already harvested 72% of their soybeans. That's compared to their average 47% for this time of year.
Williams said the reason for the difference in harvesting percentages is temperature.
"The further north, the cooler the conditions and the longer it takes for crops to mature," he said.
In northern Illinois, Williams said our harvest usually lasts October until the end of November.
But what about southern Illinois?
"200 miles south, they may be done by October," he said.
Regardless of where you are in Illinois, Williams said the quality of the soil is superior throughout the state.
"We're so blessed in the Midwest to have good soils," he said. "And that's why it's important that we protect those soils. Good soils produce the most even when the grass growing conditions aren't the best."
Williams shared what he called "a bad farmer's joke."
"We like to say it's always 'too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry' because we always complain about things we can't control," he said. "But this is not a typical year because it was 'too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry' all in one year."
Though this year has come with many weather challenges, Williams said that's one of the things that makes farming interesting.
"You think you know what you're doing, and then Mother Nature says, 'No, you've still got things to learn.'"