(SPRINGFIELD) In this week’s Illinois Crop Conditions & Progress Report from the USDA, both corn and soybean planting are running ahead of average for early April, with most activity happening in the southern half of the state. As of Sunday, 4% of the corn had been planted, up 3% from a week ago and just ahead of the 5-year average. Meanwhile, 7% of the state’s beans are in the ground, compared to an average pace of 2% last week. The winter wheat crop is also doing very well with the early warm weather. As of Sunday, the USDA reports 6% is headed out with 67% rated good to excellent, 27% fair, and 6% poor to very poor.
