Illinois wheat growers managed to get the crop off to a good start in much of the state before it went dormant for the winter. Keys to the early-season success include a good window for timely planting last fall followed by recent rounds of precipitation.
“I’d say, at this point in time, we’re optimistic about the condition of the crop,” Dave Devore of Siemer Milling in Teutopolis told FarmWeek. “Most fields appear to have very good stands,” he continued. “We’ve gotten moisture in recent weeks, which is very helpful.”
Matt Wehmeyer, president of AgriMAXX Wheat Co. in Mascoutah, echoed Devore’s current view of the crop.
“I’d say the wheat crop overall looks quite respectable to good,” he said. “I’m pretty optimistic about the prospects so far. We’ve had a high number of growing degree days and subsequently a lot of tillers, which for the most part is good.”
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois field office pegged the condition of the winter wheat crop at 55% good to excellent, 34% fair and 11% poor to very poor as of Dec. 31. Conditions the previous month were rated 72% good to excellent, 21% fair and just 7% poor to very poor as it neared dormancy at the end of November.
The November crop ratings represented a significant improvement from the previous year when just 30% of wheat in the state ranked good to excellent as of Nov. 27. Weather, of course, will be key as always to the crop moving forward.
Most of southern and western Illinois remained in moderate to severe drought, with other pockets of abnormal dryness, as of Dec. 28, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Now, the possibility of colder temperatures and a more active weather pattern looms heading into the peak of winter following some unseasonable warmth.
“It would be nice to get some snow cover on it (the wheat crop),” Devore said. “That’s important if it gets really, really cold (with temperatures below 20 degrees for extended periods) to prevent freeze damage.” If and when the weather does turn, Wehmeyer believes most wheat is in good shape to handle more seasonable conditions, following the third-warmest December on record, based on preliminary reports from the Illinois State Water Survey.
“It seems as if in recent years winter is all over the board as far as temperatures,” Wehmeyer said. “I think the crop is in a good spot to withstand (colder weather). “I’m a little surprised with the warmth we had there was a good chance we’d experience a higher level of aphids,” he noted. “But, we haven’t seen a whole lot of aphid activity, although that doesn’t mean they won’t show up.”
USDA to estimate wheat seedings
So how many acres of winter wheat did Illinois farmers plant last fall? USDA will release its wheat seedings report Jan. 12.
“In Illinois, I think acres will be down compared to last year,” Devore said. Last year, however, was quite a big season for the cereal crop. Illinois farmers planted 840,000 acres of wheat and harvested 780,000 acres for the 2023 crop, up 39% from the previous year.
“To maintain that (level of plantings) would’ve been a challenge,” Devore said. “But, even if we’re down 5 or 10%, it would still be one of our larger wheat seedings in recent years.”
Illinois farmers produced 67.9 million bushels of wheat in 2023, up 53% from the previous year, with a record average yield of 87 bushels per acre statewide.