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Illinois breaks soybean yield record in 2018

The USDA says Illinois’ record-breaking soybean yield in 2018 was a result of early planting and optimal weather.

Mark Schleusener with USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service in Illinois says,

“Farmers are planting soybeans earlier than they used to. There are some good seed treatments that allow the soybeans to go into colder soil, but still germinate well and then they can capture more days of sunlight and produce higher yields and that has been a trend over the last few years.”

He tells Brownfield breaking that record again this year will depend on the weather.

“We broke the old record by six, by more than 10%, we went from 59 to 65 (bushels per acre). That’s a big jump and it will be interesting to break that record again, but we would need optimal weather again.”

He says Illinois’ soybean yield average came out well ahead of other states, topping Nebraska’s 59 bushels per acre and Indiana’s 58.5.

Sangamon County, Illinois’ yield average of 82.3 gave it the highest bean yield of any county in the US.