News

Crop delays abound in the Midwest

USDA’s meteorologist says last week’s hot and dry weather caused corn to take a beating.

Brad Rippey says condition dropped a point to 57 percent good to excellent which is well below last year.

“Indiana, Michigan Missouri, and Ohio all with 20 percent of the corn crop rated in poor to very poor condition.”  

Corn silking doubled in the last week to 35 percent, but Indiana and Illinois are significantly behind. “We still see progress more than 40 percentage points behind schedule for corn silking in Illinois and Indiana.  Illinois the furthest behind, just 36 percent of the crop silking.”  

Five percent of the crop is now in the dough stage, half of the five-year average.

The nation’s soybean crop remained mostly unchanged with 53 percent rated good to excellent, but poor to very poor condition is commonplace in the Eastern Corn Belt. “Ohio at 28 percent, Indiana at 24 percent.”   

Rippey says winter wheat harvest is past the two-thirds mark but some states have yet to get into fields. “South Dakota, not a single acre of winter wheat has yet been harvested.  That is behind the five-year average of 42 percent and last year’s 43 percent.  Of course, delayed development was an issue for a long time and then South Dakota go soaked by heavy rains.”       

Winter wheat harvest in Montana has also not started but Rippey says spring wheat development is about on schedule.