FONTERUTOLI, Italy, June 20 (Reuters) - Scattered showers and milder temperatures across the United States last week helped most Crop Watch corn and soybeans make it through yet another drier week. But recent rain totals have not been sufficient to ease anxiety over the dryness, especially as heat could be prominent for the rest of the month.
Up to five of the 11 Crop Watch locations received no rain over the last week, and only one tallied 1 inch or more. Forecasts suggest the core Corn Belt could remain drier than average into early July, when a lack of moisture, if realized, could begin reducing yields.
Each week the Crop Watch producers assign condition scores to their fields on a 1-to-5 scale. The ratings are similar to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s with 1 very poor, 3 average and 5 excellent. Crop Watch conditions do not incorporate yield assumptions, which will come later in the season.
The 11-field, unweighted average corn condition remains unchanged at 3.93 this week after quarter-point reductions in South Dakota, Nebraska and western Illinois were offset by a combined three-quarter-point bump in Iowa.
The 11-field average soybean condition fell to 3.75 from the prior week’s 3.93, which had not yet included North Dakota. The only changes for soybeans this week were quarter-point cuts in both Nebraska and western Illinois, and the North Dakota field debuted at 2.5.
Eight of the 11 Crop Watch corn fields carry a condition score of 4 or better as do seven of the soybean fields, though there are no perfect 5s. That is the same number of 4-plus soy fields as this same week last year, but nine of 11 corn fields scored at least 4 a year ago, including three 5s.
With no rain in southeastern Illinois and Indiana over the last week, both producers noted that by the weekend corn was rolling its leaves to conserve moisture before noon in milder temperatures of 75 Fahrenheit. The Nebraska and South Dakota fields also had no rain for the week.
The Ohio location was the standout wet area last week with 3.7 inches of rain, though the crops need more heat for development, which Ohio may miss out on in the next two weeks. Some other producers, including those in eastern Iowa and western Illinois, report their beans are growing slowly due to the lack of moisture.
Over the last week, Crop Watch locations in Minnesota, eastern Iowa and western Illinois received around a half inch of rain, Kansas picked up 0.7 inch and western Iowa tallied 0.9 inch. The Nebraska producer, in the northeast part of the state, says crops are worse off than a year ago as subsoils are even drier now.
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.
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.
(Editing by Robert Birsel)
