Corn farmers in DeKalb County produced 200+ bushel corn last year.
The USDA reported a total of 44 counties in the state finished with a corn yield average above 200 bushels per acre in 2021.
In DeKalb County, the 2021 yields showed corn averaged 202.7 bushels per acre and soybeans averaged 62.9 bushels per acre.
While last year was a good crop year, it wasn’t the best for the county – 2016 was the county’s top year with corn averaging 216 bushels and soybeans at 68 bushels per acre.
DeKalb County 2021 yields reported by the USDA’s NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service) were comparable to the state corn yield but below the state soybean yield. Illinois averaged 202 bushels of corn and 64 bushels of soybeans.
Last year’s DeKalb County yields exceeded the county’s five-year average of crop production yields. The five-year county average for corn is 195.4 bushels and 58.3 bushels for soybeans.
Looking back at the 2021 crop year, farmers managed to get the crops planted in a timely manner. The summer provided good growing conditions plus advancements in seed genetics and farming practices contributed to respectable yields. Fields received rainfall in early summer and then fields remained dry in August and September.
Farmers in DeKalb County harvested 189,900 acres of corn and 124,900 acres of soybeans in the fall of 2021.
Behind the top county crops were wheat fields averaging 78.8 bushels per acre and oats averaged 114 bushels per acre in the county last year.