The thermometer backed away from triple digits in part of the Midwest this week.
USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says that the cooler temps settled in a few days ago and should stick around in the central and eastern Corn Belt through the end of the week.
According to Rippey, “We are seeing temperatures that are mostly below 80 degrees from the upper Mississippi Valley into the Great Lakes region, which includes states like Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. So, here we are early to mid-August seeing temperatures below 80 degrees, that’s really ideal for summer crops like corn and soybeans.”
In the nation’s top corn-producing state, Iowa, three-quarters of the corn crop was rated good to excellent. In Illinois, the top soybean state, 70 percent of the soy acreage landed in that category.
Related:
Dry days in the Midwest are improving the topsoil moisture
The drought in the Midwest is easing, but it has greatly impacted the winter wheat crop
Triple-digit temperatures have hit the Corn Belt
