Illinois soybean and corn crops endangered by drought

ROCKFORD, Illinois (WTVO) — Illinois farmers say unusually dry conditions are threatening this year’s soybean and corn crops.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 18% of Illinois soybeans are considered very poor to very poor, and 20% of corn crops are considered very poor to very poor.

A few days of hot and dry conditions are expected.

The Stateline region recorded just two inches of rain in May, when it usually receives twice that amount.

The average from June 1st to 21st is about 3.64 inches. The last time there was heavy rain over 1.5 inches in the area was on February 27th.

“The drought across the region continues to worsen, with parts of our region now in the ‘severe’ category,” said Chicago’s National Weather Service. “Most of our region has seen less than 25% of normal precipitation over the past 30 days, and long-range forecasts do not look for widespread downpours.”

The dry stretch will last at least until Saturday night. Most of Stateline is expected to get no rain Saturday night through Sunday morning. This will be the next best chance in the next few days, but it doesn’t look very promising at the moment.