Corn is the official vegetable of the state of Illinois, and if you drive along any country road here in the Land of Lincoln, you'll see lots of it. What Illinois counties produce the most? Two Northern Illinois counties made the top 10 list.Of course, some might argue that corn is a not a a vegetable, but rather grain, at least according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Of course, you have your sweet corn type, and of course the much more plentiful feed corn variety.

Corn is also converted into fuel for some cars (ethanol), and in some cases even converted into oils that are used in medicine, plastics, & clothes. Yes, you may be wearing corn and not even know it

Counties with the most corn bushels harvested in Illinois, 2014 according to the USDA:

  • 10. Logan County–46.2 million bushels
  • 9. Vermilion County–46.3 million
  • 8. Lee County–48.2 million
  • 7. Sangamon County–51.1 million
  • 6. Bureau County–53.9 million
  • 5. LaSalle County–56.9 million
  • 4. Champaign County–60 million
  • 3. Iroquois County–63.7 million
  • 2. Livingston County–64 million
  • 1. McLean County–70.4 million

How did the rest of the Stateline do?

  • 1. Ogle - 45 million
  • 2. DeKalb County -42.7 million
  • 3. Stephenson - 33.8 million
  • 4. Carroll - 27.7 million
  • 5. McHenry 16.2 million
  • 6. Winnebago  -15.5 million
  • 7. Boone 13.3 Million
University of Illinois Map
University of Illinois Map
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Even with those huge numbers, The Wall Street Journal reports that the amount of corn harvested in Illinois in 2015 is expected to be 14% less than in 2014

 

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