Mike Wurmnest is pictured as he circles back to harvest another row of corn near Deer Creek on Sept. 30. Wurmnest expects to harvest around 250 bushels per acre from the field. (Photo by Tim Alexander)

In this week’s peek between the rows we have news about how the 2022 harvest is faring in Illinois, along with announcements of state and federal funding for conservation and clean energy transitions. We’ve also got a report about Illinois soybeans heading for Taiwan in 2023-24. Please read on …

Corn harvest catching up

DEER CREEK — A drive through rural central Illinois late last week revealed that farmers took advantage of wonderful weather to make great progress on the 2022 corn harvest. Though just 6 percent of Illinois corn had been harvested statewide as of Sept. 6 (the five-year state average was 16 percent), that percentage should greatly increase following a week of near-perfect weather conditions.

As of Sept. 7, the date of the last USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service Illinois Crop Progress and Condition report prior to press time, corn condition was rated 5 percent very poor, 6 percent poor, 20 percent fair, 53 percent good and 16 percent excellent. Corn dough reached 96 percent, compared to the five-year average of 99 percent. Corn dented had reached 81 percent, compared to the five-year average of 94 percent, according to the report.

Straddling the eastern Tazewell County and the western Woodford County line, Mike Wurmnest was harvesting his corn crop via Deere 650 combine on Sept. 30. This is Wurmnest’s 55th corn harvest, and he expects a yield of around 250 bushels per acre from the field he stripped that day near Deer Creek Elementary School. “The harvest is looking great, with corn coming into the combine at around a 22-23 percent moisture level,” Wurmnest said during a ride-along arranged by the Illinois Corn Growers Association.

Also as of Sept. 7, the USDA estimated soybeans harvested at 2 percent, compared to the five-year average of 10 percent. Soybean condition was rated 5 percent very poor, 6 percent poor, 23 percent fair, 51 percent good and 15 percent excellent. Winter wheat planted had reached 1 percent, compared to the five-year average of 3 percent.

Conservation funding for farmers boosted

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois farm and conservation groups are celebrating the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s announcement of the approval of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy and Conservation Planning Assistance grant agreement. The IDOA/NRCS partnership will leverage $3.5 million Illinois state NLRS funds with $9.8 million of federal funds from the USDA/NRCS to deliver over $13.3 million in new funding to support conservation planning and NLRS staffing and programming, according to an Illinois e-News release. In addition, the project will allow the addition of up to 40 conservation planners across the state of Illinois.

“NRCS is pleased to be a part of this partnership effort to get more technical boots on the ground in Illinois,” said Ivan Dozier USDA-NRCS State Conservationist. “We’ve recently experienced staff shortages on both the state and federal side while our natural resource concerns continue to elevate. It’s great to be able to work together on strategic solutions that better prepare Illinois farmers to address these increasing resource concerns and take advantage of conservation practice implementation funding that will be coming our way.”

As a result of the partnership with USDA NRCS conservation programs, Illinois farmers and landowners will have increased opportunities to improve their nutrient management planning, advance soil health and contribute to the reduction in nutrient losses to Illinois streams, rivers and lakes, the news release noted.

Soy growers strengthen relationship with Taiwan

BLOOMINGTON — The Illinois Soybean Association is lauding a cooperative trade agreement with Taiwan that will result in some $2 billion in export sales over the next two years. The agreement was sealed with the signing of a historic Memorandum of Understanding between the ISA and other Illinois commodity groups with Taiwan that will enable closer cooperation in global trade facilitation.

According to an ISA news release, the Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association has indicated their intent to purchase between 2.6 million and 2.9 million metric tons (equivalent to between 96 million and 107 million bushels) of United States soybeans between 2023 and 2024. The value of these purchases is estimated to be $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion in U.S. funds.

“The signing of the MOU signifies a step towards global trade security,” said ISA Chairman, Steve Pitstick, “and it reinforces ISA’s commitment to maintain the security of international supply chains, while facilitating legitimate trade relationships.”

The total value of U.S. agricultural and related products exported to Taiwan in 2021 reached $3.94 billion, according to the ISA. This makes Taiwan the seventh largest market for U.S. agricultural exports, with the U.S. supplying around 27 percent of Taiwan’s agricultural imports.

Billions coming in clean energy grants

CARBONDALE — The USDA announced last week that the Biden-Harris administration has formed a clean energy Illinois Basin Rapid Response Team, which will bring together 11 federal agencies, local officials and community leaders in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky to support the region’s transition to a clean energy economy.

“Energy workers and their communities in the Illinois Basin face enormous challenges as local oil, gas and coal facilities close down as part of the nation transitions to a clean energy economy. The Biden-Harris Administration made billions of dollars available for energy communities across America to spur economic diversification, advance workforce development, clean up environmentally damaged sites and more,” said Energy Communities IWG Director Brian Anderson.

The announcement came on the second day of a two-day visit by federal leaders to Carbondale, where officials toured energy and manufacturing facilities in the area. Stops included the John A. Logan Solar Project, Southern Illinois University’s airport and automotive program and the university’s iFERM (Illinois Food, Entrepreneurship, Research, and Manufacturing) hub.

Illinois Farm Fact:

Covering 27 million acres, Illinois is home to more than 72,000 agricultural producers. (IDOA-Jerry Costello)