Illinois Valley Times

As spring weather shifts into full swing, Illinois farmers are hard at work using heavy machinery to help plant their crops. State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) is encouraging drivers to be aware because more equipment will be out on the roads.

Spain took to social media to alert his constituents and remind them to be careful while farmers are out doing their jobs. 

"Please keep an eye out for farmers and large equipment out on the roadways this planting season," he said in a Facebook post this week. "Remember to be patient and give them plenty of space as they work to feed and fuel the world."

Dr. Anna Herzberger; an agronomist with Growmark, a Bloomington-based ag cooperative; noted that farmers in central Illinois typically start planting in late March and continue through April, with the goal being to have all their seeds in the ground by early May, a recent report on WGLT.org said. 

As of April 24, only 2% of Illinois' 2022 corn crop had been planted so far, whereas at this point of the season in years past approximately 21% had already been planted, a report from The Telegraph said this week. Additionally, only 1% of the state's soybean crop has been planted as opposed to 8% by this time in years past.

When fields get drier, some farmers switch to planting corn instead of soybean.

"We actually just made the decision to switch some acreage from soybeans to corn right now, as long as we can get the nitrogen, is a little more profitable," Mark Read, whose farm is near Putnam, told Brownfield Ag News recently. "Part of that is due to the last USDA report and the financial part of it."