ALTAMONT, Ill. — Will Norman and his uncle, Reggie Grandt, are awash in corn this fall.

Like many farmers in the East Southeast region, they are pulling down record or near-record yields.

WILLIAMSFIELD, Ill. — Grant Strom thought it was going to be too wet to harvest corn Oct. 12, so he gave his three employees the day off. They had been combining corn for six days straight, and he thought it was a good time for a break.

He may have regretted that decision for a minute when the sun came out along with a drying wind.

OGDEN, Ill. — Even with some periods of the season a little too wet, some a little too dry, and the appearance of tar spot, Kyle Rademacher was pretty pleased with the yields in a cornfield near Ogden. He worked with his brother Kurt early in harvest season, on Sept. 23.

“The yields have been pretty good,” he said after the first 80 acres were harvested where they farm in Champaign and Vermillion counties in Eastern Illinois.

GREENVILLE, Ill. — As the numbers on his yield monitor ballooned, the grin on Rich Reeves’s face widened.

The West Southwest farmer expected good corn yields this year, but expectations are being exceeded dramatically.

MAZON, Ill. — The Isham family started this harvest season with anticipation, as this is the first year they had a yield monitor in the combine. But some disappointment followed during early harvest.

They were not alone. In mid- to late September, farmers and grain elevators in several parts of the state weren’t getting the high corn yields predicted at some points in the season.

CARMI, Ill. — It’s an increasingly common comment in Illinois this year regarding the corn crop: “Yields are probably the best we’ve ever had,” said Austin Rahmoeller. “Corn has been excellent.”

Rahmoeller grows corn, soybeans and wheat on about 3,500 acres in White County along with his father, Bob, and uncle, Jack. Yields are particularly good on higher ground this year in an area of Southeast Illinois with soil that is not as productive as that in central and northern parts of the state.

EASTON, Ill. — Chris Schoor, with his “cabin dog” Blue, loads wagons and semis as his dad, Ron Schoor, combines.

As sunset nears on Sept. 22, they work steadily, harvesting corn in Mason County in Central Illinois and getting a good start for the season.

NEW MEMPHIS, Ill. — Joe Kehrer expected outstanding corn yields for 2021. Unfortunately, he isn’t seeing them.

“The corn is not as good as I expected,” said Kehrer, who farms in Clinton County. “I thought it was going to be a bumper year.”

NEW BOSTON, Ill. — Corn harvest would have been a lot more enjoyable in northwestern Illinois this year without a drought and two windstorms, but Shea Bieri said it was still going quite well in mid-October.

Bieri started harvest in Rock Island and Mercer counties on Sept. 15.