Farmer celebrates triple digit winter wheat yield milestone in 2021

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Farmer celebrates triple digit winter wheat yield milestone in 2021

A southern Illinois farmer says 2021 will be remembered as the year they hit 100 bushel per acre winter wheat yields.

Dean Campbell farms in Washington, Perry, and Randolph counties where USDA estimates county averages at 77-85 bushels per acre, but some farms including his were well above that.

“We had the best wheat crop that I have ever seen, and I have been farming since 1974. We had an excellent year with a farm average of just over 100 bushels per acre on 900 acres of winter wheat.”

Photo by Dean Campbell

With nearly 50 years of farming under his belt, Campbell tells Brownfield he never thought he would see this milestone.

“I remember my mom and dad going on vacation about 20 years ago out in Washington and they visited a farm where a guy was combining 95-bushel wheat. Dad brought a head home to show us that good wheat that was out there saying we will never make this yield.”

He says a good weather year and thorough management are to thank, and while he didn’t get the early emergence he would have liked to see after planting this fall, he’s hopeful for another great crop in 2022.

“We are looking at a heat crop that looks pretty decent for this time of year and there is a lot that can happen between now and harvest time next June.”

He says they also had a record harvest for corn, soybeans, and double crop soybeans this year.

Campbell serves as Secretary for the Illinois Wheat Association.

          

Interview with Dean Campbell

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