Illinois Corn Growers Catch Up on Planting

Favorable weather over the past week has helped Illinois corn growers catch up on spring planting after a soggy, slow start.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 43 percent of Illinois' corn crop is now in the ground. That's 2 percentage points above the average pace of the previous five years.

A year ago, just 6 percent of the state's corn had been planted as one of the wettest springs on record got farmers in many states off to the slowest start in decades.

Nationwide, corn planting continues lagging, with 29 percent of the planting done. That's off from the five-year average of 42 percent.

Missouri farmers continue their torrid pace, already with 63 percent of the crop planted. That dwarfs last year's showing of 21 percent at this time.