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Around the County

Frequent information updates for agricultural audiences

March 26, 2010

County Corn Yields Released

Corn Yields Released

The Crop Reporting Service of the USDA just released soybean yields by county on March 26. The state average yield was 174 bushels per acre. Logan County averaged 188, Sangamon 189, DeWitt 188, Macon 192, Mason 165, Tazewell 182, and McLean 186.

The top counties in the state were Warren at 193, Macon at 192, Champaign and Menard at 190, Sangamon and Carroll at 189, then Logan, DeWitt, and McDonough at 188.

The top producing county for total production remained McLean County with 68,541,000

bushels of production, and they were closely followed by Iroquois County with 64,347,000

bushels.

The Logan County yield was the same as the 2008 average of 188. This figure fell well shy of the 197 bushel per acre yield achieved in 2007.

County Harvested Yield Production
Warren 164500 193 31748500
Macon 179800 192 34521600
Champaign 299000 190 56810000
Menard 87300 190 16587000
Sangamon 257000 189 48573000
Carroll 146900 189 27764100
Logan 218000 188 40984000
McDonough 152000 188 28576000
De Witt 113200 188 21281600
Woodford 157900 187 29527300
Morgan 157600 187 29471200
McLean 368500 186 68541000
Knox 168800 186 31396800
Scott 56700 185 10489500
Livingston 320500 184 58972000
La Salle 315500 183 57736500
Vermilion 243000 183 44469000
Christian 235500 183 43096500
Piatt 153900 183 28163700
Henry 238000 182 43316000
Tazewell 158900 182 28919800
Ford 157600 182 28683200
Cass 91400 182 16634800
Putnam 40800 180 7344000
Whiteside 230500 179 41259500
Hancock 168500 179 30161500
Douglas 137700 179 24648300
Moultrie 99300 179 17774700
Kendall 86800 179 15537200
Iroquois 361500 178 64347000
Coles 118600 177 20992200
Calhoun 22800 177 4035600
Bureau 289500 176 50952000
Mercer 144700 176 25467200
Peoria 115000 176 20240000
Stephenson 164100 175 28717500
Fulton 136200 175 23835000
Rock Island 70300 175 12302500
Schuyler 70200 175 12285000
Henderson 97600 174 16982400
Adams 146000 172 25112000
Marshall 112000 172 19264000
Stark 109200 172 18782400
Shelby 185200 171 31669200
Greene 122200 171 20896200
Pike 172900 169 29220100
Grundy 110600 169 18691400
Lee 268500 168 45108000
Montgomery 175400 168 29467200
Edgar 174200 168 29265600
Ogle 229000 167 38243000
Jersey 71100 167 11873700
Kankakee 204500 166 33947000
Macoupin 201500 166 33449000
Madison 100700 166 16716200
Winnebago 93400 166 15504400
Jo Daviess 88300 166 14657800
Mason 123200 165 20328000
Wabash 49500 165 8167500
Effingham 76900 164 12611600
Cumberland 63300 164 10381200
Clinton 60300 163 9828900
Saline 39600 163 6454800
Clark 83000 162 13446000
De Kalb 223500 161 35983500
Washington 77100 161 12413100
Alexander 8500 161 1368500
Kane 86900 160 13904000
Gallatin 69000 160 11040000
Bond 52200 160 8352000
Hamilton 52200 160 8352000
Monroe 43100 160 6896000
Edwards 28300 159 4499700
Will 102100 158 16131800
White 73600 158 11628800
St. Clair 67300 158 10633400
Brown 53200 157 8352400
Pulaski 16500 156 2574000
Wayne 71700 153 10970100
Massac 20000 153 3060000
Fayette 71600 152 10883200
Jackson 30000 152 4560000
Williamson 10700 151 1615700
Crawford 69900 150 10485000
Jasper 86900 149 12948100
Franklin 29900 149 4455100
Boone 76900 148 11381200
Union 14400 148 2131200
Marion 52300 147 7688100
Lawrence 56800 146 8292800
Clay 60800 144 8755200
McHenry 96000 143 13728000
Perry 41900 142 5949800
Richland 93500 141 13183500
Randolph 45800 140 6412000
Jefferson 32600 139 4531400
Cook 3900 138 538200
Johnson 6400 137 876800
Du Page 2900 134 388600
Lake 8900 121 1076900
State Total 11800000 174 2053200000

Posted by John Fulton at 2:03 PM | Permalink |

March 8, 2010

Crop Insurance Decision Making Tools Available

With the crop insurance deadline approaching, there are new decision making tools posted online at the Farmdoc website: http://www.farmdoc.illinois.edu/cropins/index.asp

These tools include premium estimator and a payment simulator.

Posted by John Fulton at 10:05 AM | Permalink |

March 3, 2010

Nitrogen Sources for a Tough Spring - from Mike Roegge

It sure looks like Mother Nature wants to keep winter around a bit longer than many of us would prefer. Officially, spring begins March 20th, but many producers are hoping that spring weather will arrive sooner. We're going to need as many days as possible to get quite a few field operations completed before planting can commence: fall (now spring) tillage, eliminating ruts in fields or parts of fields, fertilizer to apply, manure to spread, etc.

Most areas saw very little fall anhydrous ammonia applied. Which means the NH3 system will be fully stressed this spring. I think most folks realize that not all fields will get NH3 applied prior to planting, it's just not possible to get over that many acres in a timely fashion without delaying planting. Thus we need to be examining the use of alternative nitrogen sources and timings.

Of the 3 main nitrogen sources, NH3 is the most commonly used. It's cheaper and is applied below the surface, which can reduce N losses (but not all). Urea and liquid are the other two sources. Both have been used in the past with similar results to NH3, if used correctly.

When nitrogen is applied to the soil, it breaks down into ammonium and then nitrate. These are the two forms that the corn crop uptakes. And nitrate is the form that can be lost (leaching or denitrification) from the soil. Comparing the 3 N sources, note that NH3 takes the longest amount of time to break down compared to ammonium and nitrate. While liquid N is half ammonium and nitrate, which means it can be lost the quickest. The longer we can keep nitrogen from breaking down to nitrate the more protected it is from loss through leaching or denitrification.

In terms of potential N losses, all forms are vulnerable. N is lost in one of several ways: 1) under saturated soil conditions, nitrate can be converted to a gas by soil microbes (denitrification); 2)nitrate can be leached out; or 3) if left on the soil surface, N can convert to a gas. Nitrogen stabilizers (N-serve, Instinct, Agrotain, etc.) can be used to reduce some of these potential losses.

1) If the soil is saturated and any of the N has been converted to nitrate, soil microbes will cause nitrate to be converted to a gas and lost. But only the portion of the N that has converted to nitrate.

2) If water is moving through the soil profile and any of the N has been converted to nitrate, leaching can occur, and tile lines take it out of the field. Again, only nitrate can be leached.

3) If left on the soil surface, with warming soil temperatures, heavy residue and high evaporation occurring, urea can be lost through volitization. This doesn't happen immediately, but, depending upon the above factors, within 7-14 days. Urea is found not only in dry urea but also in liquid N, as 50% of liquid N is urea.

No system is foolproof. So take precautions- Apply liquid or dry N sources at planting time, not weeks ahead. Consider using nitrogen stabilizing products. Incorporate liquid and dry if not expecting rain within 7 or so days. Consider using some of the coated urea products as the coating will prevent N loss for 4-8 weeks, although you might want to incorporate to prevent movement of the granules off the field. Sidedressing is the most efficient method of applying N, and you can actually reduce your normal rate.

All 3 nitrogen sources have been used with success. It's just that you have to manage them differently. HN3 is injected, which eliminates surface loss. But you can lose NH3 via leaching or denitrification. Urea, if not incorporated (by tillage or rain) within 7-10 days can be lost via volatilization under certain conditions. Use of coated urea will reduce that loss. Liquid N is half urea and half equal portions of ammonium and nitrate. The nitrate portion is vulnerable immediately to loss (as described above).

Be aware, you'll more than likely have to use one of these alternative sources this year. Make sure you plan ahead for best results. For instance, spinners may not be as precise at application, so a double spread may be necessary. Just be prepared.

Posted by John Fulton at 8:03 AM | Permalink |