How this headline may connect to industries in Illinois. Technical scores are below — click any ? for what a metric means.
Central Illinois farmers welcome rain after an historically dry May.By WMBD TV CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WMBD) — After one of Peoria’s driest Mays on record, rainfall is giving local farmers some relief.Peoria saw just 1.25 inches of rain in May, making it the 10th driest May ever recorded locally, according to WMBD Chief Meteorologist Chris Yates.Charley Hensley, manager of the Peoria County Farm Bureau, said the dry stretch was noticeable across the area.“You can tell pretty easily just by looking at some of the yards in the area and not a lot of mowers running,” Hensley said.While crops were still doing well, Hensley said they were nearing the point where rain was needed to keep them growing.“What we saw is the crops did well, but they were getting to the point where they needed some rain in order to get ready for them to grow,” Hensley said.“You want your crops to get precipitation at the right times during the year.” Hensley said Peoria County received about two inches of rain over the last couple of days, depending on the location.He said it came at a good time for corn and soybeans, as they continue to develop through June.“This rain that we just got is really going to be helpful,” Hensley said.“That crop is going to start growing a lot faster here in the next couple of weeks.” The dry weather in May did have some benefits for farmers.Hensley said it allowed many farmers to spray their fields and gave hay producers time to dry out hay before baling.Still, Hensley said steady rainfall is important during the growing season.He said farmers typically like to see precipitation about once a week, though that does not always happen.Heavy rainfall can also bring problems if it falls too quickly.Hensley said torrential downpours can lead to ponding or flooding in fields.He said that can be a problem, particularly if it happens early in the growing season, when the seeds are just planted or barely sprouting.But Hensley said he does not believe this rain will cause any major issues locally.“If we continue to have this type of weather, that’s going to be really beneficial,” Hensley said.“We don’t want torrential downpours necessarily.” Hensley said farmers will continue scouting fields in the coming weeks, checking for weed pressure, disease, and overall crop health.He said the ideal weather pattern would be warm, humid days with about half an inch to an inch of rain each week.“Right now, I think we’re in an excellent position,” Hensley said.“I think farmers are probably pretty ecstatic about where we’re headed right now and that we got the rain that we did.” WMBD TV first reported this story.You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.