Northeast Iowa Crop Conditions

I hate to sound like a broken record, but the weather report for this update is nearly the same as the last – comfortable temperatures but not enough rain. The drought monitor map below shows that virtually all of western Iowa is in moderate drought, and too dry conditions cover most of the state. Because of the drought, crops are moving more
rapidly towards maturity than we’d like. Most corn will reach maturity before Labor Day.Soybeans may hang on a little longer, but light spots in the field are getting larger.Realistically, the next week to 10 days is the last that rain will help prevent further yield deterioration, and the forecast is not favorable for that. The areas that were lucky to
catch a rain recently still have decent prospects, but areas that were missed or have lighter soils will end up with well below normal yields.
The widely followed Pro Farmer crop tour went through the Midwest this week. Their findings are that crops are generally good in most areas, except for Iowa, where we are dealing with twin troubles of western drought and Derecho devastation in central and east central parts of the state. Iowa yields look to be well below last year’s levels, and in their estimation that will be enough to prevent national yields from setting the new records projected by the USDA earlier this month (182 bu/acre for corn and 53 bu/acrefor soybeans). Now we wait to see how the last couple weeks of the growing season end up, as most areas are dry and yields could still slip a little lower.Grain prices have moved a little higher recently on weather concerns and continued strong exports.