ROCHELLE — As Illinois cornfields reach their peak summer growth, residents are experiencing increased humidity caused by “corn sweat,” a natural result of plants releasing moisture into the air through evapotranspiration. This added moisture can push dew points to some of the highest in the country during the growing season, contributing to the region’s muggy conditions.
Veteran Meteorologist Tom Skilling said the numbers speak for themselves.
“An acre of corn will put as much as three to 4,000 gallons of water in the air over that acre in a day,” he said.
While uncomfortable, the humidity is a sign of healthy crops, which play a major role in Illinois’s economy through ethanol production and livestock feed.
“And by the way, that’s not an indictment of our farmers or anything like that. The our farmers are doing their amazing job that they always do. They’re planting crops,” Skilling notes. “It’s just a natural process when you grow a plant that puts moisture in the air.”
Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan said that humidity and agriculture go hand in hand
“ It is part of the reality of living in the Midwest, but even if we just grew all soybeans, I think we’d have humid days too.” said Duncan.