PEORIA, Ill. – The 2022 harvest is in full swing across central Illinois, with combines, grain carts, trucks and tillage equipment dotting the landscape.

Consistently dry and cooler weather conditions allowed for seven full days of field work during the week ending Oct. 2, according to last week’s USDA Illinois Crop Progress and Condition report.

“I would estimate that 40 percent of the corn is harvested and 50 percent of the soybeans in Peoria County. That will increase significantly over the next four-five days with the clear forecast,” said Patrick Kirchhofer, manager of the Peoria County Farm Bureau, on Oct. 4. “Corn yields are excellent with most reports in the 225-to-250-bushel range. Some corn fields are topping 250 bushels per acre. The soybeans yields are also very good with yields of 65 to 75 bushels per acre.”

Across the Illinois River from Peoria in Woodford and Tazewell counties, Mike Wurmnest, a past director for the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, was harvesting 250 to 260 bushel-per-acre corn the last day of September, according to his John Deere S670 combine’s onboard yield monitor.

“That’s just in this one field; I can’t say this will be the case when we get into the rest of the harvest,” cautioned Wurmnest, who is retiring after this, his 55th harvest, to hand off control of the family farm to his son. “There’s still a long way to go.”

In Oneida, farmer Brett Swanson said he got out to a fast start with his corn harvest. On Oct. 3, the Knox County farmer switched heads and went after the soybean harvest.

“I’m a little concerned about the moisture in the soybeans because now they are getting too dry,” Swanson said. “As dry as everything is and as much is left in the fields, the potential for a crop field fire is something I think about.”

Overall, the corn harvest in his area is drier and more robust than that of last year’s crop, according to Swanson. “It’s definitely a pleasant surprise on our corn crop. Talking to my neighbors, it’s evident that the corn harvest is pretty good in our area with much less disease than last year’s. This year we had humid days, but not as many consecutive days throughout July and August that really tore up the (2021) crop,” he said. “It’s just a matter of getting it into the bin safely, with our corn coming in at 18-24 percent moisture.”

Overall, the 2022 Illinois corn harvest is shaping up nicely, according to Collin Waters, director of exports and logistics for Illinois Corn. “Things are looking good in central Illinois and we are expecting an average to above-average harvest. Over by Champaign there is some drought and it’s a little tougher over there. In far-southern Illinois, they’re looking at an average crop after a few above-average years. In parts of western Illinois I’ve heard some good things, which is a little bit of a surprise,” Waters said.

“Some folks are concerned about crops being too dry and affecting yield. At this point I’ve been saying that the USDA’s projection of 204 bushels per acre for Illinois is probably pretty close, so things are looking pretty good.”

The 2022 Illinois soybean harvest, while good overall, is producing mixed results for producers around the state. This is according to Stephanie Porter, outreach agronomist for the Illinois Soybean Association.

“Only around 5 to 15 percent has been harvested in central Illinois, but that percent will jump in the next week as the fuller maturity soybeans are ready to harvest. I have seen more corn harvested this week than soybeans, but they are becoming neck and neck with each day,” Porter reported on Oct. 6. “There have been a lot of complaints about green stems/foliage in soybeans, so this will slow down soybean harvest. This is mostly due to the number of heavy rains late in the season, as well as other disease and insect issues.”

Porter said that some farmers are reporting yields of up to 80-90 bushels per acre, while others have experienced disappointing harvests.

“I think most of the disappointment can be attributed to too much water and no tile (drainage) or too dry in some areas to the south. Disease also comes along with too much rain and not enough drainage,” she said. “Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) came on late in many fields across the state. Symptoms show after large rainfalls after bloom. I believe that in most cases symptoms showed too late in the season to cause a yield hit, especially in northern Illinois. SDS symptoms also signify to an agronomist that the field is set up to be a high yield environment.”

According to the Oct. 2 USDA crop progress report for Illinois, corn harvested for grain had reached 13 percent, compared to the five-year average of 29 percent. Corn condition was rated 3 percent very poor, 5 percent poor, 23 percent fair, 55 percent good and 14 percent excellent. Soybeans dropping leaves had reached 80 percent, compared to the five-year average of 75 percent. Soybeans harvested reached 10 percent, compared to the five-year average of 26 percent. Soybean condition was rated 4 percent very poor, 5 percent poor, 24 percent fair, 55 percent good, and 12 percent excellent.

In addition, winter wheat planted reached 4 percent, compared to the five-year average of 14 percent, according to the report.