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Farm Briefs

Temps, precip are up for December
For December, statewide average temperatures were 35.7 degrees, 5.9 degrees above normal.
Precipitation was also above normal for much of the state, with an average of 3.43 inches.
The warm temperatures allowed farmers to wrap up fall field work.
Topsoil moisture was rated at 5 percent short, 86 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus.
Wheat producers report favorable conditions, but some are concerned about the lack of snow cover. Winter wheat conditions stand at 2 percent poor, 17 percent fair, 72 percent good and 9 percent excellent.

Corn population up;
record ears per acre

Each year, the Illinois Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service conducts a survey of corn and soybean fields throughout the state. Following are the results of this year's survey:
CORN
In 2011, the row width of corn for grain in Illinois averaged 30 inches, down 0.2 inches from the row width recorded last year. The average row width continued the decreasing trend, with 84.8 percent of the acreage in the 20.6-30.5-inches-per-row width category.
Plant population of corn for grain in Illinois was a record 30,400 plants per acre, breaking the record set last year.
The number of ears per acre,  29,550, was up 1,000 from last year, and breaks the record set in 2009.
SOYBEANS
The average row width of soybeans in Illinois was 19.8 inches in 2011, 0.8 inches wider than last year.
The most common row width category was from 10.1 inches to 18.5 inches, accounting for 52 percent of the samples.

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