“Consistent variability” was the theme from the 2025 White County Crop Tour. Pictured are samples taken from Enfield Township showing the drastic differences in ear length, pollination, and kernel quality from one field to the next. Photo by Doug Anderson.
Kent Armstrong and Mark Lamont take ear measurements from a field in Phillips Township near Crossville, IL. Photo by Drew Riley.
Phil Healy shows a corn leaf with Southern Rust disease that could cause corn in late planted fields to lose potential as the growing season comes to a close. Photo by Heather Greenwalt.
Farmers headed out to White County fields on Wednesday, August 27th to assess this year’s corn crop. Farmers reported below-average yields which were expected based on the difficult, wet planting season and the highly variable rainfall throughout the season. This year’s White County Crop Tour was sponsored by the White County Farm Bureau, York Ridge Agency LLC, Peoples National Bank, and Consolidated Grain & Barge.
The average estimated 2025 corn yield for White County is 162.5 bushels per acre, compared to actual USDA corn yield of 175.5 (harvested acres) in 2024. The highest USDA corn yield during the last 10 years for White County was in 2021 when the yield hit 190.7 bushels per acre. The lowest USDA corn yield in the last 10 years occurred in 2016 with a yield of only 134.3 bushels.
This year, Phillips Township in the northeastern area of the county saw the highest yield estimate at 176.8 bushels per acre, which was significantly lower than last year’s estimate of that township of 182.5 bushels per acre. The lowest yielding township in 2025 was Indian Creek Township in the Norris City area which came in at 147.4 bushels per acre. It is important to note that the Crop Tour results do not take into account acres that were not planted due to the excessive spring rainfall.
2025 yield estimates for each township results were (bu/ac):
Burnt Prairie Township 170.5
Carmi Township 161.,6
Emma Township 167.9
Enfield Township 152.4
Gray Township 153.2
Hawthorne Township 164.3
Heralds Prairie Township 161.7
Indian Creek Township 147.4
Mill Shoals Township 168.9
Phillips Township 176.8
36 individuals participated in the 2025 tour, spanning out in teams across the county to take yield measurements. Teams measured the number of stalks in 60 feet, the number of ears in 60 feet, average length of an ear, and the average number of rows in an ear. Data was taken from 7-10 fields in each township, randomly chosen around 1-2 miles apart from one another. A yield estimate was taken from 97 fields in 10 townships.
The average ear length for 2025 was 6.9 inches, compared to 7.3 inches in 2024; average kernel rows were 16.1, the same as in 2024; average ear population was 28,140 plants per acre, compared to 28,900 plants per acre average in 2024; and the average ear-to-stalk ratio was 97%, up slightly from 96% in 2024.
The White County Farm Bureau would like to extend a special thank you to Peoples National Bank for sponsoring lunch, to Consolidated Grain & Barge in Enfield for sponsoring breakfast and for the use of their ropes and field forms, to York Ridge Agency for their assistance in compiling the data, and to the Carmi FFA Chapter for assisting with the tour.
For the complete report of the 2025 White County Crop Tour, go to the White County Farm Bureau website at www.whitecfb.com/croptour.
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