Wheat Yields Not as Bad as Feared in 2019

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Published on January 7 2020 3:33 pm
Last Updated on January 8 2020 3:45 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

2019 Illinois wheat yields were nowhere near the state record of 76 bushels per acre set in 2017, but the heavy rains and flooding in the spring didn't ruin the crop as had been feared.

The USDA reports the state wheat yield average at 67 bushels per acre for 2019, up a bushel from the previous year.

The crop average also beat the projected acreage from May.

Danny Rubin, Illinois Wheat Association President, farms in Fayette and Marion counties. Rubin said, "As wet as it was, we ended up with a decent crop. It was pretty average."

Illinois farmers produced 36.85 million bushels of wheat last year, down slightly from 2018.

Clay County was one of nine Illinois counties that were million bushel producers. Clay County's yield  was 1.03 million bushels.

Looking ahead, Illinois farmers experienced similar issues planting the 2020 crop as they did for 2019.