Some of you are already out in the fields for this year’s harvest, or #Harvest16 as it is labeled in social media discussions. But you may not have gotten too far with the rains that pushed through parts of the state this week. Responses to an inquiry on Facebook regarding harvest were varied, with many saying that it will be a week or two before things really get rolling. Corn harvest reports from the National Ag Statistics Service show that you’ve hardly scratched the surface, with just one percent of the corn crop harvest, as contrasted against four percent harvest in the five-year average. You crop remains at 85 percent in good to excellent condition.

Here are some Illinois corn harvest updates, taken from the “Farm Hats” group on Facebook. You can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/farmhats/

• 3” of rain didn’t stop seed corn harvest today in Livingston County
• Chopping silage in Shabbona
• Harvest to start in Henry County
• Starting today or tomorrow in Seaton
• Edwardsville/Alton running since last week
• Mt. Carmel is running
• Pike County just starting
• 3-4 weeks out in Crawford County
• Underway south of I-72 Central, IL
• Just starting to black layer in Mercer County

We encourage you to report your harvest on the Farm Hats Facebook group page or at our IL Corn Facebook page. Don’t forget to tag your social media posts with #harvest16 and #ILharvest16.

Be safe and we’ll see you during the winter meeting season.