Tagged: drought

Quinn tours drought-stricken Southern Illinois farm

With the warm spring, farmers were able to plant early and corn and soy seeds went in at a remarkable pace.

"We were set out to raise what we thought was probably the largest corn crop in the history of American agriculture," Said Illinois Farm Bureau President Phillip Nelson.

Instead, months of drought are killing those expectations ... and the corn. Nelson says some farmers will end up with no crop, or only half of one.

More than two dozen Illinois counties have received disaster designations because of the ongoing drought.
And the state’s stepping in to help deal with the loss of crops. Governor Pat Quinn toured a farm in Jefferson County in Southern Illinois on Monday.  It’ been hit hard by a lack of rain.

"They’ve never seen anything like this. We were trying to find an ear of corn. We finally found one. It was about four inches long and it looked like something you’d put in a salad." - Governor Pat Quinn

The drought in southern Wisconsin has been officially declared severe, and all of Illinois is now officially in a drought … but there is one crop that seems to be doing fine despite the hot weather.

Officials at the National Drought Mitigation Center in Nebraska say Cook County is fully in a moderate drought for the first time this year. ... But that isn't the worst of it.

Far southern Illinois is designated as being in an exceptional drought, which is the most serious classification.