By RHIANNON BRANCH

FarmWeek

Many Illinois wheat fields, some now covered in snow, looked good heading into winter and the onset of dormancy. 

The climatological winter began Dec. 1, while the official start of the winter solstice arrived Dec. 21.

“We had a dry fall, so that allowed for a wide window of wheat planting,” said Tracy Heuerman, a field sales agronomist with GROWMARK based in Effingham County.

“I would say we also have some later planted wheat this year than what we typically see,” she said, noting some farmers used the dry weather as an opportunity to complete other fall projects and planted wheat into November when conditions were still favorable.

Heuerman, who is also a wheat grower and treasurer of the Illinois Wheat Association, said the dry weather did cause uneven emergence in some fields but most evened back out after receiving moisture.

“Most of it is starting to look better, and I feel like going into winter most of the wheat looks like it’s in a pretty good spot,” she said.

Fellow IWA board member Josh Valier said he finished planting a couple days ahead of average on his farm near DuQuoin.

“We had a good dry fall to get it done,” he told FarmWeek. “We got all our wheat planted in a very short amount of time and were able to get fertilizer on right in front of it.”

Valier said there were a few thin spots in fields, but overall, he is happy with emergence.

“After we got all our wheat sowed, about two days later we got three or four tenths of rain,” he said. “With it being pretty dry, it didn’t take long for that to be used up, but it seemed to really help wheat emergence.”

The more growth this crop sees ahead of dormancy, the better, according to Heuersman.

“The more leaf tissue it has, the better root system it has. So, the longer it has been in the ground, the better it tends to make it through the winter time frame,” she said. 

Snow cover in some areas of the state will provide a blanket to help protect the crop from extremely cold temperatures.

From what she has seen, Heuerman estimates fewer wheat acres were planted in her area this fall, while Valier said planted acres on his farm are in line with the past two seasons.

USDA reported 99 percent of Illinois wheat had been planted with 92 percent emerged as of Nov. 24 compared to the five-year average of 88 percent. The state’s crop is rated 7 percent very poor, 7 percent poor, 30 percent fair, 45 percent good and 11 percent excellent.

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between the Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.