By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Though Carroll County led the way in 2010 Illinois corn yield per acre, and Piatt County in soybeans, McLean County in central Illinois provided the most production in terms of both crops statewide, according to the Illinois Field Office of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Data released by Illinois NASS Feb. 28 shows farmers in Carroll County – located in the moderately hilly, Mississippi River-bordered, northwestern portion of the state – produced an average of 189.8 bushels of corn per acre, besting the disappointing state average of 157 by more than 32 bushels.

“Carroll County (farmers) had an advantageous situation for corn this year (because of topography),” said Brad Schwab, leader of the Illinois Field Office. “Another advantage is that they did not experience the really hot nights they did in central Illinois, where the corn didn’t have a chance to respirate at night as it normally would when temperatures drop below 70 degrees.”

In addition, “really wet conditions in June left standing water in a lot of fields in the central third of the state. In the northern part of the state, with their more rolling fields, they are going to have better drainage and not as many standing water issues.”

Top honors for soybean yield went to Piatt County in the state’s eastern region, where producers grew soybeans at a rate of 63.3 bushels per acre, eclipsing the previous record high state average of 51.5.

“It was one of those years with a wild range between corn and soybean yields,” Schwab commented. “In the same county you could have record yields for soybeans and then have some of the poorest corn yields in many years. You don’t see such a wide (disparity) in yields for the two crops very frequently. It depended on what types of rains came during the critical periods of the growing season.”

McLean County’s wide and flat terrain helps it to consistently place among the state’s top-producing counties for both corn and soybeans, according to Schwab.

“It is one of the largest counties in Illinois as far as acreage. Even when they don’t have the best yields compared to other counties, generally speaking they are going to have (high) production,” he said.

The county’s topography and layout are only two factors contributing to the county’s consistent presence among the state’s top-producing counties, said Anna Ziegler, assistant manager of the McLean County Farm Bureau.
“McLean County has some of the best soil in terms of topsoil depth and fertility in the world,” she explained, adding, “We also have a very big land base compared to some of the other counties in the state.”

Livingston County tied McLean for total soybean acres harvested in 2010, with 270,000, but was bested by McLean in terms of total production (15,805,000 bushels to 13,787,000). McLean farmers harvested 357,000 acres of corn in 2010, besting Iroquois County by only 3,000 acres, and produced 60,522,000 bushels of corn – which topped second-place finisher LaSalle County’s production by more than six million bushels.

County estimates are used to evaluate and administer farm commodity, credit, conservation, disaster, insurance and loan programs. Data for all Illinois counties and for other crops, such as winter wheat, may be obtained by visiting the Illinois NASS website at www.nass.usda.gov/il or phoning 800-622-9865.