Western Illinois spring planting underway
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By DAVID CAMPHOUSE
Submitted photo
Jeremy Thomas, who lives and farms south of Pittsfield, shared a photo to mark the beginning of his farm’s planting season last week. Jeremy’s brother Jason Thomas reported Monday that the family was approximately one week into planting.
Farm machinery could be seen working across Western Illinois to get the spring corn and bean crops planted starting last week.
Warm temperatures and dry conditions have combined to present farmers with opportune conditions to operate in the field.
Farmers south of Pittsfield and outside Perry both reported on Monday that they had been planting for approximately a week.
“We’re a good hard week into it,” rural Pittsfield’s Jason Thomas said on Monday. “We’re hot and heavy right now. We’re planting both corn and beans.”
University of Illinois Research Specialist and Manager of Perry’s Orr Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center Luke Merritt also said that Monday marked a week of planting for him.
“We started rolling here last Monday,” Merritt said on Monday, April 15. “I’m not quite halfway done planting. It’s probably 40 percent in the ground, though.”
Merritt said that his planting season started on Monday with beans, and he started planting corn later in the week as soil temperatures warmed.
“Soil temperatures at 9 a.m. last Monday were right at 50 degrees, so we started getting beans in,” Merrit said. “Then Thursday and Friday, after those warm afternoons, soil temperatures at 9 a.m. were up around 55 degrees, so we started planting corn.”
Both Thomas and Merritt anticipated the possibility of rain on Tuesday that could interrupt the planting season.
“Everything has been drying down quick,” Thomas said. “We’ll see what the weather brings Tuesday.”
While the possibility of rain could interrupt planting, in the long-run Merritt said the area can still use the moisture.
“It’s too early in the year to be wishing moisture away,” Merritt said.
David Camphouse/River County News
Pike County farmers were out in force preparing fields and planting corn and bean crops ahead of rainfall predicted for Tuesday. Machinery and implements could be seen all around the county kicking up plumes of dust as field work was being carried out. This tractor was operating just west of Kinderhook on Monday.
