(BELLEVILLE) The Illinois Wheat Association’s (IWA) annual wheat plot tour last week confirmed the state’s crop is showing more potential than states further west. After scouting 143 fields in 25 counties last Tuesday, the tour calculated an estimated state weighted average yield of 102.8 bushels per acre. While the prediction was a bit below recent record-high estimates in 2024 (104.8) and 2025 (106.4), it was above the 2023 tour estimate of 94.8 bushels per acre, although a few minor problems were found, such as head scab and barley yellow dwarf virus, however not enough to be alarming. The county average estimates ranged from 76.5 bushels per acre in St. Clair County to 142.7 bushels in Gallatin County. Of the total 25 counties scouted, just over half, 14, had an estimated average yield of 100 bushels per acre or higher.
