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Ag in the AM: Corn Planting Almost Finished

90% of Iowa corn crop, 95% of Illinois’ now planted

DES MOINES, Iowa - The corn planting season is almost complete in Iowa and Illinois. 

The USDA says 90-percent of Iowa's corn crop and 95-percent of the Illinois crop is now in the ground.   The Quad City area trails a bit with 83-percent of the corn planted in east central Iowa.

Almost half of the corn (48%) has emerged in our area. It's a little slower than the Iowa average (55%).

As you can expect. most farmers say soil moisture is great (95% say its adequate to a surplus).  That's a trend we're also seeing throughout Iowa and Illinois right now.

Happy Birthday USDA!

And Tuesday marks the 150th birthday for the U.S. Agriculture Department.

It was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 15, 1862.

Back then, 48 percent of the U.S. population worked in agriculture.   Today, the amount is less than 1 percent.

The average farm size (418 acres) is now twice as large as in 1860 (199 acres).   In fact, about 921 million acres were farmed in the nation in 2010. That's more than twice as many acres as in 1860.

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