Crop Progress and Condition for the Week Ending August 2, 2015.
After an abundance of rain earlier in the summer, some Indiana farmers are now finding fields a bit dry, according to the USDA, NASS, Great Lakes Region. Warmer temperatures late in the week dried out soils and caused moisture stress on some crops in sandy soils. Some farmers even reported turning on irrigation systems. There were 5.7 days suitable for field work, 0.9 days higher than the previous week.
Soybean conditions have generally improved with decreased rainfall, however, farmers have expressed disappointment in the lack of pods present, and some growers have found plants without much of a root structure. Some soybean fields were sprayed for late weed control. The height and color tone of corn plants varied from field to field due to nitrogen deficiency and damage from June rains. A number of producers sprayed corn fields with fungicide, but in smaller amounts than usual.
Winter wheat harvest was mostly complete with only a few producers lagging behind. Wheat reports on yield have been average to below average, and there have been numerous reports of higher than normal vomitoxin levels in wheat. Oat yields were also reported as below average. With the completion of winter wheat harvest, there was time for a number of producers to complete their first cutting of hay as well as make progress on a second and third cutting.
Other activities for the week included harvesting mint, rye, straw, cucumbers, sweet corn, watermelon, and cabbage, spraying fungicides on specialty crops, spraying for weeds, mowing roadsides, and signing up for new farm programs.
Regionally, winter wheat harvested was 94% in the North, 97% in Central, and 98% in the South. Soybeans blooming was 81% complete in the North, 79% in Central and 86% in the South. By region, soybeans conditions rated good to excellent were 44% in the North, 43% in Central and 44% in the South. Corn silking was 84% complete in the North, 85% in Central and 95% in South. By region, corn conditions rated good to excellent were 42% in the North, 48% in Central and 56% in the South.
