Illinois wheat tour projects 102-bushel state average yield
By RHIANNON BRANCH
FarmWeek
The Illinois Wheat Association’s (IWA) annual wheat plot tour confirmed the state’s crop is showing more potential than states further west. After scouting 143 fields in 25 counties May 19, the tour calculated an estimated state weighted average yield of 102.8 bushels per acre.
The prediction was a bit below recent record-high estimates in 2024 (104.8) and 2025 (106.4) but above the 2023 tour estimate of 94.8 bushels per acre. “What we’re seeing so far is a lot of healthy wheat, a lot of good stands and overall, pretty high expectations for the wheat yields,” IWA President Tracy Heuerman of Effingham County told FarmWeek.
She helped scout fields in Clark, Cumberland, Effingham, and Shelby counties during the event, which were plenty wet following several inches of rain the day before and wetter than average conditions the first half of the month. “A few minor things we saw were a little bit of potential head scab and a little bit of barley yellow dwarf virus, but nothing of any alarming concern from a disease perspective,” Heuerman said. Scouts in other areas also reported some presence of Septoria Leaf Spot, army worms, and rust.
County average estimates ranged from 76.5 bushels per acre in St. Clair County to 142.7 in Gallatin County. Of the 25 counties scouted, 14 had an estimated average yield of 100 bushels per acre or higher.
Jessica Rutkoski, a wheat breeder at the University of Illinois, said the tour reaffirmed her expectations of an early start to harvest this year. “We are seeing wheat like 10 days ahead of normal in some of our trials,” she told FarmWeek. “It’s going to be a big mix. Some are normal, some are way ahead, so it’s going to be interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite the range that we’re seeing before so the logistics of all that is going to be different than what we’re used to.”
She said the crop looks like fields she scouted the past couple of years on the tour. “Overall, I think everything was in good condition, nothing too challenging, but there’s still a lot that can happen between now and harvest, so we’ll see what happens,” she said.
Meanwhile the winter wheat crop in some Great Plains states has battled drought, frost, disease, high winds, hail and scorching temperatures, which could put a dent in national production and yield.
The Wheat Quality Council completed its 68th annual Hard Winter Wheat Tour May 14, scouting nearly 400 fields in Kansas and some in the neighboring states of Nebraska and Oklahoma. That tour calculated a weighted average yield of 38.9 bushels per acre, a 26.6% decrease from 2025. Still Kansas scouts are optimistic that the crop will outperform USDA estimates.
The Illinois tour also served as an educational opportunity for participants like Champaign County farmer Nick Adcock, who attended for the first time this year. “I wanted to learn how to better scout (wheat) and better judge what kind of crop that I’m actually growing. I’ve learned there’s a little bit of an art to it,” he said. “For the most part, our wheat looks really good at home, but now I’ll be able to verify what I’m thinking,” Adcock said.
Participants reconvened at Southern Illinois University’s Belleville Research Center following the tour for updates on wheat research.
This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.
