The word farmers fear – drought – is surfacing in more conversations from crop protection professionals to weathermen, to farmers. Topsoil moisture percentages mirrors the ground’s need for rain, at 46 percent short and only 29 percent adequate, according to the Illinois USDA National Agricultural Statists Service (NASS) field office.

The University of Illinois extension report also noted the Palmer Drought Index of June 5 showed most of Illinois, except for the northeastern part, as “abnormally dry,” which is the mildest form of drought.

“Despite these conditions, soils that can hold two to three inches of plant-available water per foot of depth should have had enough water to keep the crop growing through mid-vegetative stages,” said Emerson Nafziger, extension crop production specialist.

“I’m hearing parts of western Illinois are already done for due to drought,” said Bill Campion, grain farmer at Wyoming, Ill. “But our crops are looking pretty good for now. We were fortunate to receive 1.6 inches of rain June 16, but up north rain availability trails off.”

Campion said his corn crop is a week away from tasseling, and the beans are sprouting 4-5 trifoliate. Japanese beetles have been plaguing his fields, however, and they are “as thick as I’ve ever seen them.

“My sprayer is loaded with insecticide and I’ve seen the beetles a full month ahead of what’s normal for us. Last year they showed the third week of July,” he explained.

Combines have been busy cutting winter wheat, which is 85 percent ripe, compared to the five-year average of 37 percent.

With daytime temperatures in the 90s and no rain in sight for many areas, crop conditions in northern Indiana are getting serious.

According to NASS, only 37 percent of corn is in good condition, compared with 55 percent last year at this time. Soybean condition fell to 32 percent good to excellent, compared with 56 percent last year at this time.

A drive last week from Orange County in southern Indiana to Fulton County in the north-central part of the state showed a wide range of growth. In the south, some corn was waist-high, while in Fulton County some corn was barely up and other fields were flourishing. Rain has been scattered throughout the state.

Irrigation systems are running everywhere but, according to Mark Kepler, Purdue University extension educator in Fulton County, the systems are not keeping up. Still, he doesn’t feel irrigation poses a threat to the aquifer.

“We normally get 35 inches of rain a year,” he said. “Of that, 14 inches goes into the aquifer. Irrigation systems are pulling out 6.5 inches, leaving plenty of recharge in the aquifer.” He does, however, see the possibility of wells going dry for short periods of time.

While NASS shows 2 percent of corn tasseled, the drought poses a possibility of tassels not fully emerging from the final leaves of the upper whorl, which leads to pollen shed. If too much pollen is trapped within the whorl, there may not be enough left for successful pollination.

“We need rain in July to make corn,” Kepler said. “We need rain in August for soybeans.”

While he views the drought as a distinct threat to corn and soybeans, he is more concerned about hay, wheat and pasture. “The first hay cutting normally yields half the year’s crop,” he said. “This year it was down 50 percent, meaning we realized only 25 percent of the year’s growth. The second cutting also was down by a half, leaving us down 30-35 percent.

“Pastures are so dry many producers are feeding hay to augment the forage, further reducing their winter supply.” One local man told him he normally gets all his hay locally or from producers in Nebraska: “He hopes Nebraska has a better year than we are having.”

As for wheat, Kepler said the frost took out half the crop early. Some farmers ripped out poor stands and planted corn. Those who continued with wheat had a reduced yield. “We may have 30 to 50 percent less straw this year,” he said. “Straw will be hard to find and the price will go up.”

He could count the dots in the dust, Ed Beeler said of the much-needed rain that was forecast for June 21. It ended up being a light drizzle. Beeler farms about 800 acres in southwestern Ohio.

“Overall, things are looking okay but in bad need of water,” he said.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which focuses on broad-scale conditions, on June 22, 91.4 percent of the state was abnormally dry or in drought.

The corn Beeler planted early looked good, he said. Some of the later corn didn’t come up until a hard rain on May 29, while corn planted May 30 looked good but in need of water.

“The early 15-inch beans are starting to canopy – they were planted around the 24th of April,” Beeler said. Most of the beans are looking good ... some are showing stress from dry weather.

“Most of the wheat looks relatively good,” he added. “A lot of the wheat is harvested around here. Mine is not, it was 17 percent yet with some green in it.”

The heat was putting significant stress on livestock and has hampered the growth of corn, soybeans and hay, according to the June 17 NASS report.

One percent of corn was silked, the report said. The soybean crop was 2 percent blooming. The winter wheat crop was 99 percent turning color, compared to 53 percent last year. Twelve percent of winter wheat was ripe, compared to 2 percent for the five-year average, and 2 percent was harvested.