State Soil of Illinois

IL Natural Resources
State Soil of Illinois
By USDA - NRCA
Apr 20, 2008, 22:16 PST

The State Soil of Illinois

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Drummer Soil Profile

Surface layer: thick, black silty clay loam
Subsurface layer: very dark gray silty clay loam
Subsoil: grayish brown and gray silty clay loam
Substratum: dark gray, mottled loam and sandy loam

The Drummer soil series was established in Ford County, Illinois, in 1929. It was named for Drummer Creek in Drummer Township. It consists of very deep, poorly drained soils that formed in 40 to 60 inches of loess or other silty material and in the underlying stratified, loamy glacial drift. These soils formed under prairie vegetation.

Drummer soils are the most extensive soils in Illinois. They occur on more than 1.5 million acres in the state. They are the most productive soils in the state. Corn and soybeans are the principal crops.

The average annual precipitation in areas of Drummer soils ranges from 32 to 40 inches. The average annual air temperature ranges from 48 to 54 degrees F.

Drummer is a fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Endoaquoll. This taxonomic classification is very typical of the wet, dark colored, prairie-derived soils of Illinois.

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