There’s too much variability to make generalizations, said James Hoorman, Ohio State University extension educator in Putnam County. "It’s all over the board. It’s a very unusual year," he said. "In the same county we see a lot of variation. It just depends on how much moisture we had."

Within his area, he said some areas had a lot of rain and corn is green, while other areas were dry and corn is looking like it’s ready for harvest. "We have some areas out there that the corn was slow and didn’t seem to be maturing very fast, but then we got some rain and it’s looking good."

Maturity varies greatly, he said, from dough stage to dent stage. In dry areas, he said ears are not filled out completely, and some fields had pollination problems.

"In general, overall I think we’re going to have a pretty good corn year," he said. He expects above-average yields.

The soybean crop also varies greatly, Hoorman said. "Some are doing well," he said. "Others are not. Some that was planted a little later is still green as grass. Because we had a lot of rain, beans in our area didn’t get planted until after Memorial Day. Only about 15 to 20 percent are turning yellow now."

After beans were planted, some had to be replanted. "We have some areas in the southern part of the county that got 5 to 7 inches in the middle of June and actually had to start over," he said. "That’s going to hurt you."

But overall, Hoorman said he’s expecting an average soybean yield. "I wouldn’t be surprised if in some areas they take off corn before they take off beans, and that’s really unusual."

Statewide, warmer than normal temperatures and mostly clear skies allowed plenty of time for fieldwork in the week ending Aug. 31, according to the NASS Great Lakes region office.

Temperatures recorded ranged from 68-79 degrees, which is 2 degrees below to 9 degrees above normal. The lowest recorded temperature was 46 degrees and the highest was 94. The average temperature for the week was 73.6 degrees, 2.6 warmer than normal.

Recorded precipitation ranged from no rain to 1.19 inches, with a statewide average of just under a half-inch.

Overall corn condition was 75 percent good to excellent compared to 78 percent at this time last year. Soybeans and corn are progressing nicely, according to NASS, with soybeans setting pods and corn doughing at or near the five-year average.

Soybean condition was 72 percent good to excellent, the same as this time last year.