USDA stats show Illinois had 'historic' corn, soybean yields

WCBU | By Associated Press

Published February 25, 2015 at 12:58 PM CST

The Illinois Farm Bureau says last fall's harvest was an historic crop.
The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Services says Illinois had average yields of more than 200 bushels per acre for corn and 50 bushels per acre for soybeans. That's up from 178 bushels of corn per acre in 2013 and 49 bushels of soybeans per acre.
Illinois Farm Bureau spokesman John Hawkins those levels are "never seen." The highest yields for corn were in Macon County and Piatt County for soybeans. McLean County averaged 218.3 bushels of corn per acre in 2013 about double the 109.5 bushel average during the drought of 2012.
University of Illinois experts say yields are rising thanks to improvements in technology, genetics and farm management.

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