The state's biggest soybean yields of the 2009 crop were in Champaign and Piatt counties, according to recent data released by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Soybean yields last year averaged 56 bushels per acre in both Champaign and Piatt counties. Their average yield was 10 bushels higher than the state average.

Even though the counties ranked top in yield, neither one earned the top slot in terms of soybean production for 2009. Livingston County had the most acres – 254,000 – devoted to soybeans. In Champaign County, 223,000 acres were set aside for soybeans. In Vermilion County, 192,600 acres had soybeans growing in them.

The top producer was McLean County, where just over 13 million bushels of soybeans were harvested. Champaign came in fourth place with 12.48 million bushels, up from 11.8 million in 2008. And Vermilion County earned a fifth-place spot with 10.59 million bushels of soybeans, up from 10.02 million bushels in 2008.

The Champaign County average of 56 soybean bushels per acre was a record for the county. Last year, the county's average of 50 bushels per acre didn't even crack the top 15.

The news surprised Champaign County Farm Bureau Pres- ident Jerry Watson. The 2009 growing season got off to a cool, wet start, and a lot of crops were planted later than usual, he said. Not that Champaign was dry, but areas to the south and west may have been wetter, he said.

"A lot of it may be dumb luck, but it may also say something about the ability of Champaign County farmers to get the crop in pretty fast," Watson said.

In Vermilion County, the average soybean yield was 55 bushels per acre, which tied the county's record set in 2007. Vermilion shared the third-place slot with six other counties: DeWitt, Macon, Christian, Douglas, Moultrie and McLean.

Warren County earned the top slot last year with 56 bushels per acre.

In other state agricultural statistics news, Washington County harvested the largest amount of winter wheat at 59,200 acres with a total production of over 3 million bushels. DeKalb County reached the top yield of 76 bushels per acre, 20 bushels above the state average.

More data, including acreage, yield and production estimates for other counties for soybeans and winter wheat, can be found at http://www.nass.usda.gov/il. Once there, click on "county estimates."

The state will release corn yields and production numbers on March 26.