The county crop yield estimates released by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service offer one last telling glimpse of the extreme challenges and a few pleasant surprises that defined the 2019 season. Crop plantings in Illinois last season totaled just 10.5 million acres of corn, down 5% from 2018, and 9.95 million acres of soybeans, down 8%. State yields averaged 181 bushels per acre for corn, down 29 bushels from the 2018 record, and 54 bushels for beans, 9.5 bushels off the previous mark. (FarmWeekNow)