AgricultureID

State · US-IL

Illinois

Illinois spans hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) conditions in the north and center and humid subtropical (Cfa) conditions in the south, with hot, humid summers and rainfall in all seasons. The frost-free season lengthens markedly from north to south.

Major crop systems

  • Rainfed maize–soybean two-year rotation
  • Soft red winter wheat, mainly in the south
  • Specialty crops including processing pumpkins

Major livestock systems

  • Confined hog (swine) production
  • Beef and dairy cattle
  • Poultry

Agricultural land: Deep, dark prairie Mollisols across the central till plains make Illinois one of the most productive row-crop states; cropland dominates land use outside the Chicago metropolitan area and the dissected southern hills. Irrigation: Row cropping is predominantly rainfed, with limited irrigation on sandier soils such as the Illinois and Kankakee river sand areas.

Agroecological zones: Dfa (Hot-summer humid continental), Cfa (Humid subtropical)

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Illinois Department of Agriculture — State department for agriculture, animal health, and marketing.
  • University of Illinois Extension — Land-grant research and extension (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign).
  • USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) — Official state-level crop, livestock, and Census of Agriculture statistics, published through its regional field office network.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Illinois are published by USDA NASS and the Illinois Department of Agriculture and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classification follow the ISO 3166-2 subdivision system and USDA/state reporting units.
  • No subnational statistics are reproduced here; any official figures are dated, versioned, and periodically revised — read them with their year and source.
  • A statewide profile masks the north–south climate gradient that separates the maize-dominated central prairie from the more diversified, wheat-inclusive south.

Agricultural authority

Verified against official government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.

  • Illinois Department of Agriculture

    State · Department

    Illinois Department of Agriculture is the first-order subnational public authority responsible for agriculture in Illinois.

    Official websiteAll agricultural authorities

Soils documented by the official survey

The soil survey maps 575 named soil bodies in Illinois, with surface pH from 4.3 to 8.4 and organic matter from 0.1% to 87.0%. The twenty appearing in the most mapped units are shown; each figure is the survey’s representative value for that soil body, not a measurement.

Soil bodies mapped in Illinois, with representative surface properties from the official survey
Soil bodypHOrganic matter %Clay %DrainageMap units
HickoryAlfisols4.9–6.80.5–415–31Well drained322in 59 survey areas
OrthentsEntisols4.5–7.90.1–2.516–50Moderately well drained to Well drained188in 91 survey areas
FayetteAlfisols5.9–6.80.5–2.518–31Well drained172in 37 survey areas
MenfroAlfisols5.5–6.40.5–3.517–31Well drained170in 18 survey areas
AlvinAlfisols5.9–6.80.75–1.257.5–20Well drained131in 37 survey areas
RozettaAlfisols5.7–6.80.5–219–31Well drained128in 41 survey areas
CamdenAlfisols6.2–70.75–2.515–31Moderately well drained to Well drained116in 46 survey areas
SawmillMollisols6.7–7.42–1119–31Poorly drained to Very poorly drained112in 59 survey areas
HoyletonAlfisols5.9–61.5–314.9–18Somewhat poorly drained111in 27 survey areas
SenachwineAlfisols5.8–6.80.75–210–31Well drained111in 32 survey areas
BlufordAlfisols5.9–6.61.75–215–23.5Somewhat poorly drained101in 28 survey areas
AtlasAlfisols5.9–70.75–222–35Somewhat poorly drained100in 39 survey areas
OscoAlfisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)6–6.62–3.523–28Well drained100in 39 survey areas
SylvanAlfisols6.50.5–212.5–31Well drained99in 24 survey areas
HosmerAlfisols5.5–6.60.75–213.5–29Moderately well drained to Well drained94in 20 survey areas
AvaAlfisols5.9–70.75–215–31Moderately well drained93in 27 survey areas
AlfordAlfisols5.90.75–217–28.5Well drained86in 9 survey areas
BeaucoupMollisols6.7–6.82.5–5.522.5–31Poorly drained to Very poorly drained86in 39 survey areas
WellstonAlfisols5.80.75–219–29.5Well drained86in 14 survey areas
OzaukeeAlfisols6.2–7.20.8–219–32Moderately well drained83in 13 survey areas

These values describe soil bodies a survey has mapped, not samples taken in a particular field. A measurement on one farm may differ from the representative value of the map unit containing it.

AgricultureID does not infer crop suitability from soil observations. That a crop is grown where a soil occurs is not evidence that the soil suits it, and no such link is published without a source that makes it. How these observations are recorded.

Climate and drought

Drought assessment, week of 2026-08-25

assessment

0.0% of Illinois’s land area was assessed as being in drought (D1 or worse) for the week of 2026-08-25 to 2026-08-31.

No category
95.6%
D0 · not drought
4.4%
D1
0.0%
D2
0.0%
D3
0.0%
D4
0.0%

D0 is abnormally dry and is counted separately: the Drought Monitor treats it as a precursor to drought and a category areas pass through while recovering.

The Drought Monitor is drawn each week by an author who weighs several indicators together with reports from local observers. It is an assessment of conditions, not an instrument reading, and each map applies to one week.

Climate normals, 1991–2020

normal

34 stations in Illinois publish a full-standard 1991–2020 normal. Each describes its own site; none is an average for the state.

StationMean tempPrecipitationDays ≤ 32°F
AURORA, IL US50.2°F39.47 in134.1
BELLEVILLE SIU RSCH, IL US57.7°F43.36 in93.4
BENTLEY, IL US52.8°F40.11 in124.3
CARBONDALE SEWAGE PLT, IL US56.0°F48.95 in102.8
CHAMPAIGN 3S, IL US52.3°F40.92 in119.6
CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, IL US49.6°F39.51 in127.5
CHICAGO MIDWAY AP 3SW, IL US52.4°F40.88 in107.8
CHICAGO OHARE INTL AP, IL US51.2°F37.86 in121.3

Eight of 34 stations shown.

A climate normal is what 1991–2020 averaged to at that station. It is not what any year was and not what any year will be; a season that matches it is ordinary, not forecast.

How these figures are produced, and what they do not say

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]USDA NASS — National Agricultural Statistics Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Official state agricultural statistics

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA — U.S. Department of Agriculture (opens in a new tab)

    United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Federal agricultural context

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12