NAPERVILLE, Illinois, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Last week featured some of the hottest temperatures of the year across the U.S. Corn Belt, increasing stress on corn and soybean crops as the heat was accompanied by a second week of largely dry weather.
That dryness is expected to last throughout this week and potentially into next week, reducing hopes of the Crop Watch producers for their soybeans, which heavily rely on August moisture to maximize yields.
Several of the 11 Crop Watch producers report that their crops are maturing too quickly in the hot and dry weather, shortening the filling window for corn kernels and soybean seeds. A break from the heat this week will slow crop deterioration, but warmer temperatures are expected to build again by this weekend.
Every week since early July, Crop Watch producers have been rating yield potential on a 1-to-5 scale. A score of 3 is around farm average yield, 4 is solidly above average and 5 is among the best crops ever.
The 11-field, average soybean yield fell to 3.93 from 4.09 last week, the largest weekly decline for Crop Watch soybean yield so far this season. The new score is also the season’s lowest, though it is higher than in the same weeks in 2021 and 2022.
An inch of rain raised the southeastern Illinois soybean yield potential by a quarter-point, and 2 inches in Ohio maintained the perfect 5 score. But quarter-point cuts came in Minnesota, Nebraska and western Iowa, a half-point drop was observed in Kansas, and eastern Iowa soybean potential was reduced by three-quarters of a point.
The Minnesota fields picked up 0.15 inch of rain last week and the North Dakota soybeans notched a half-inch, but the remaining seven Crop Watch locations were totally dry. Just 0.2 inch of rain fell on the North Dakota corn field, but the corn has been wetter than the beans for most of this season.
Average Crop Watch corn yield declined to 3.8 from 3.89 last week with quarter-point trims in Nebraska and western Iowa and a half-point loss in eastern Iowa. The 11-field corn yield is equal to year-ago in this same week.
The western Iowa producer noted that his corn is about two weeks ahead of normal, and cooler nights in Ohio have been very beneficial for grain fill. The South Dakota producer predicts his beans will be ready for harvest in about four weeks, though a handful of others noted bean expectations could fall in the coming weeks if rain does not materialize.
The following are the states and counties of the 2023 Crop Watch corn and soybean fields: Kingsbury, South Dakota; Freeborn, Minnesota; Burt, Nebraska; Rice, Kansas; Audubon, Iowa; Cedar, Iowa; Warren, Illinois; Crawford, Illinois; Tippecanoe, Indiana; Fairfield, Ohio. The North Dakota corn is in Griggs County and the soybeans are in Stutsman County.
Photos of the Crop Watch fields can be tracked on my Twitter feed using handle @kannbwx. Karen Braun is a market analyst for Reuters. Views expressed above are her own. (Reporting by Karen Braun Editing by Matthew Lewis)
