Little Relief Seen from Hot, Dry Weather in August

U.S. farmers may generate their poorest corn yields in 17 years because of severe drought, and there appears to be little relief in sight for parched Midwest crops this month, according to CropCAST/MDA EarthSat Weather.

While there were “high hopes” for crops following a warm, dry spring, corn and soybean conditions “went into a free fall” during June and July as temperatures surpassed 100 degrees, Kyle Tarpley, CropCAST’s senior ag meteorologist, said in an August 7 report.

For the rest of August, a “fairly warm and dry” pattern is expected to persist in the Midwest, though conditions won’t be as extreme as in July, he said.

Nationwide, corn yields will average an estimated 125 bushels an acre, Tarpley said, citing results from a CropCAST tour of Midwest farmland in late July. That would be the lowest average yield since 113.5 bushels an acre in 1995. CropCAST projected an average soybean yield of 36 bushels an acre, a 9-year low.

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