This week continued October’s mild trend with average temperatures in the mid to upper 50s statewide, between 1 and 6 degrees above normal. With only one week left in the month, October to date has been 1 to 4 degrees warmer than normal. The mild fall has added to what was a very warm first half of the year. Through October 23rd, this year has been the warmest on record in Peoria, and the second or third warmest on record in Chicago,…
This week brought some cooler weather just in time for the harvest moon. Temperature this week ranged from the high 40s in northern Illinois to the high 50s in southern Illinois, right around 1 degree of normal. The lack of humidity allowed nighttime temperatures to regularly dip into the 30s, and get below freezing for many places on a couple of nights. Some of the more impressive nighttime lows this week included 25 degrees in Mount Carroll and 27 in Springfield.…
October has taken over where September left off, with warm days and cool nights. Average temperatures over the past week ranged from the high 50s in northern Illinois to the mid-60s in southern Illinois, between 1 and 4 degrees above normal. The dryness of the air has been particularly remarkable, with afternoon relative humidity regularly dipping into the teens and low 20s. While the extremely dry air has been comfortable, it has also added to the lack of precipitation and increased the risk of field fires and blowing dust.…
The heat relented this week, and while temperatures were still above average they were much more pleasant. Average temperatures this week ranged from the mid-60s in northern Illinois to the mid-70s in far southern Illinois, between 2 and 6 degrees above average. September to date temperatures have been right around 1 degree above average for most of the state, but as with most Septembers we have seen quite a bit of variability day to day.
We had a bit of a wetter week across much of the state,…
Thankfully, our weather calmed down this week. Temperatures this week ranged from the high 60s in northern Illinois to the mid-70s in southern Illinois, between 2 and 6 degrees below normal for mid-July. July to date has been 1 to 3 degrees cooler than normal as well. Despite the cooler weather lately, the entire state is still about 50 to 100 growing degree days ahead of average, going back to May 1st.
This week was also quite a bit drier,…
The high temperatures across the corn belt, coupled with the lack of rainfall in some of the states east of the Mississippi River has farmers concerned. Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford has this explanation of evapotranspiration under high temperature and high humidity conditions.…
Carl Zulauf, an agricultural economist emeritus from The Ohio State University, recently spoke with Todd Gleason University of Illinois Extension farm broadcaster about the age of U.S. farmers.
Zulauf’s farmdoc Daily article, titled “Age of U.S. Farmers: Not a Problem” challenges the common perception that an aging farmer population signifies trouble for American agriculture.
Dispelling the Myth of a Farmer Aging Crisis
Zulauf acknowledges that farmers are, on average, older than the general population.…
The following is a series of crop insurance links related to information produced by the University of Illinois agricultural economist since March 1. You may find them useful in making crop insurance decisions. The first is a webinar the team hosted in which Bruce Sherrick and Nick Paulson detail both crop insurance and farm safety net (ARC/PLC) decisions.
The above webinar was aired on Monday of this past week. Tuesday the team posted an article titled “…
We invite you to visit the University of Illinois tent at the 2023 Farm Progress Show in Decatur. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week Illinois Extension and the College of ACES will be on-site at the nation’s largest outdoor agricultural event. Our tent is located at the corner of 3rd and West or just about two blocks to the right of the Main Gate as you enter the grounds.
This Google Maps link will make it easy for you to find walking directions to the U of I tent from anywhere on the grounds or even to drive to the Farm Progress Show site.…
We invite you to engage in our University of Illinois Extension strategic planning process that will continue into the 2024 calendar year.
As part of our efforts, we have created a survey that focuses on supporting Phases 1 and 2 of the planning process: 1) Assessing Our Current State and Engaging Stakeholders, and 2) Developing Our Vision and Strategic Priorities. We welcome and greatly appreciate your participation in completing the survey.
All submissions should be submitted via the online survey,…