 
          4  November 4, 2014    2014 LOGAN COUNTY FARM OUTLOOK MAGAZINE   LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com
        
        
          John Fulton
        
        
          is the U of
        
        
          I extension
        
        
          director
        
        
          for Logan,
        
        
          Menard and
        
        
          Sangamon
        
        
          Counties
        
        
          2014
        
        
          YEAR IN
        
        
          review
        
        
          T
        
        
          he 2014 growing season has
        
        
          definitely been one of ups – and
        
        
          downs. “Up” refers to yields and
        
        
          rainfall, and “down” refers to income.
        
        
          Early corn yields have indicated a
        
        
          possible record in the making, but they
        
        
          certainly aren’t all in the “bin buster”
        
        
          category. Factors contributing to less
        
        
          than stellar yields in some fields include
        
        
          wet weather, delayed planting, severe
        
        
          corn rootworm damage, nematode
        
        
          damage, and disease problems.
        
        
          Soybean yields have been widely
        
        
          ranging, with lower than average yields
        
        
          in some fields and better
        
        
          than average in others. Frequently, those
        
        
          two scenarios have played out in
        
        
          fields across the road
        
        
          from each other,
        
        
          planted the same day, and
        
        
          using the same variety.
        
        
          Possible reasons include the Sudden
        
        
          Death Syndrome disease, white mold,
        
        
          and cyst nematode damage.
        
        
          Farm income for 2014 and the projected
        
        
          income for 2015 is the big story.
        
        
          Using figures from crop budgets on
        
        
          Central Illinois High Productivity Land,
        
        
          University of Illinois economists project
        
        
          less than $200 per acre from corn after
        
        
          soybeans and slightly over $200 per
        
        
          acre for soybeans after corn would be
        
        
          available to pay rent and family living
        
        
          expenses for the upcoming season.
        
        
          Continued
        
        
          →