Temperatures moderated a bit across Illinois, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) report dated Aug. 13, but precipitation was still below normal.

The temperatures averaged 72.8, or 0.9 degree below normal. Precipitation totaled 0.28 inch, 0.63 below normal. Topsoil moisture was unchanged from the previous week with 72 percent very short, 23 percent short and only 5 percent adequate.

While DeKalb County in northern Illinois is faring a little better than some parts of the state, the county’s total precipitation since 2012 started is still 7.13 inches below average. Nearly half of that – 3.69 inches - came last month.

Producers have been busy with activities such as continued spraying for spider mites and silage chopping in some areas of the state. Some producers already are harvesting corn.

Jamie Walter, who farms south of DeKalb, said he expects yield to be down. He figures to get about 130 bushels per acre this year, compared to about 200 in a normal year. “A rough estimate is we’ll have two-thirds our normal crop,” he said.

Statewide, corn in the dent stage has reached 62 percent statewide, compared to 24 percent last year and the five-year average of 23 percent. Corn conditions were rated at 42 percent very poor, 33 percent poor, 20 percent fair and 5 percent good.

Soybeans setting pods have reached 88 percent, compared to 70 percent last year and the five-year average of 70 percent. Soybean conditions improved slightly to 28 percent very poor, 27 percent poor, 32 percent fair, 11 percent good and only 1 percent excellent.

The third cutting of alfalfa was 91 percent completed. Pasture conditions were rated at 70 percent very poor, 24 percent poor, 5 percent fair and only 1 percent good.

With 58 percent of Indiana experiencing extreme drought and 18 percent, mostly in the southwestern part of the state, trapped in an exceptional drought, the only good news last week came from the state’s northern counties – where showers and cooler temperatures brought welcome relief to crops and livestock.

In a report released Aug. 10, USDA estimated Indiana’s corn crop would produce 605 million bushels on yields averaging about 100 bushels per acre, a decrease of 46 bushels from 2011 and 57.4 bushels from the state’s five-year average. Soybeans are projected to yield 37 bushels per acre, down 8 from last year and 9.7 from the five-year average.

 “These are remarkably low numbers, especially on corn,” Chris Hurt, Purdue University extension agricultural economist, said during a panel discussion at the Indiana State Fair. He described Indiana as the worst of the major production states in terms of corn production.

NASS estimated 40 percent of the state’s corn crop is in very poor condition, with only 1 percent being excellent. Soybeans were estimated at 22 percent very poor and 1 percent excellent.

Pastures are in poor condition – 54 percent were listed as very poor and only 3 percent good. None were listed as excellent, resulting in more drought-damaged corn being chopped for silage. “The silage will provide more nutritional value for cattle than it would if it were harvested from grain,” the report said.

Soybean growers continue to battle spider mites. Ninety-seven percent of the soybean acreage is blooming, compared with 87 percent last year and 90 percent for the five-year average.

Reports on Ohio’s corn and soybean crops from across the state last week paint a gloomy picture. The state’s corn yield is forecast at just 126 bushels per acre, down 32 from last year’s mark. The forecast for soybeans is 42 bushels per acre, down 11 percent from the 2011 state average.

Just 45 percent of corn in the state was rated fair to good, while only 63 percent of soybeans were in the fair to good range.

While this long-term drought has played havoc with those two crops, wheat and oat growers in Ohio are reporting good figures. Winter wheat is estimated at 67 bushels per acre, unchanged from the previous forecast and nine bushels above last year’s state average. Winter wheat producers are expected to harvest 525,000 acres of the crop.

Oat producers have not been drastically affected by the hot conditions. The forecast for this crop is 64 bushels per acre, up 7 from the previous month’s forecast and up 10 from the state’s 2011 average. Expected from oat producers are 2.94 million bushels on 46,000 acres.

Thanks to the heat, cucumbers and tomatoes in the state should keep store shelves stocked. Seventy-two percent of cucumbers have been harvested, compared to 59 percent last year, and processing tomatoes were 30 percent harvested, an astonishing 28 percent ahead of last year.

Even apples have not withered in the scorching sun, as 53 percent of the crop was reported in fair to good condition.

The cutting of alfalfa hay is ahead of last year’s schedule. Seventy-one percent of the third cutting has been reported, as well as 15 percent of the fourth cutting of this crop. And 75 percent of peaches have been harvested, 13 percent ahead of last year at this time.

According to the office of the state climatologist, last Thursday’s anticipated rainfall that blanketed Indiana dissipated by the time it reached Ohio. The northern half of Ohio received 1.5 inches of rainfall last week alone, but that portion of the state is still nearly 4 inches short of normal for this time of year.

The south-central portion of Ohio received just over 1 inch of rain last week but since April 1 has received more rainfall than any other part of the state.