Weather in a word: wet. That sizes up the USDA’s final Illinois crop report of the year.
State statistician Mark Schleusener says it really put a damper on the activity, saying wet weather probably did stop producers from doing a few things, citing the 1.48-inch average rainfall last week. He said farmers could have been applying anhydrous ammonia and other fertilizers. There was still fieldwork to do with tillage, fertilization, and perhaps tiling.
Winter wheat is now reported 67 percent good to excellent condition.

In other State news, the latest salvo in the story of the unions and the Rauner administration comes in the form of a judge’s order.
Late Wednesday, a St Clair County judge ordered the state to pay more than $13 million for health care premiums for home health care aides who are members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois.
Union President Keith Kelleher said in a statement that the Court’s ruling is yet another major rebuke to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s extreme agenda and another example of Rauner’s failure in leading and managing Illinois’ finances, contracts and basic state operations.