"Average" Indiana Corn Yield Expected Following Record Predictions
Indiana corn producers' expectations have been lowered due to dry, hot conditions following record corn yields predictions
Despite mid-summer projections of a record 2013 corn yield, Indiana’s corn crop is now expected to be a mix of good and bad news for producers, according to a News and Tribune article.
Through the end of July, timely rainfall and moderate temperatures led to very favorable growing conditions, causing the USDA to predict record yields. However, since then, rain has mostly ceased and there have been extended periods of abnormally hot temperatures, causing a deterioration of crops.
The weather in the next week is supposed to return back to normal temperatures with a slight chance of below-normal precipitation, but the state has been dry over the past month, according to the article. August had produced just 1.73 inches of rain from August 1-27, just more than half of the August average (3.23 inches). The return to normal weather conditions will be warmly welcomed by Indiana farmers; however, weather going forward will likely only prevent further crop loss, not make up for what has already been lost.
Bob Nielsen, a corn specialist at Purdue University, says in the News and Tribune article, “It’s getting pretty late in the game for the corn crop to recover because we’re within three weeks of reaching physiological maturity. We needed rain in the last two weeks, not the next two weeks.”
Favorable crop conditions in Indiana have gone by the wayside, as a dry and hot August caused some significant damage to crops. As a result, Indiana crop producers are now expecting average yields, a downgrade from record expectations earlier in the summer.