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Drummer silty clay loam
Drummer silty clay loam has been officially designated as the State Soil of Illinois, to provide recognition of the value of this soil type to the agriculture and overall economy of the state.
The well developed structure and dark black color are characteristic of this important soil. The deep topsoil with high organic matter content are key to Drummer's productivity. The black channels moving down the profile are remnants of pre-historic crayfish channels, reflecting the development of this soil under marshland conditions. When artificial drainage systems were installed, and the steel moldboard plow was used to break the sod of the tall prairie grass, vast areas of Illinois prairie could be converted productive farmland.
The following description of Drummer soil was adapted from the USDA NRCS website on State Soils.
(See http://soils.usda.gov/gallery/state/html_docs/il_soil.htm)
Drummer Soil Profile
Drummer Series
Fine-silty, mixed,superactive,mesic
Typic Endoaquolls
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 a very typical of the wet, dark colored, prairie-derived soils of Illinois.
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