Weekend Wild Weather Brought Welcomed Rains and Crop Damage to Corn Belt
AgDay 06/22/21 - Wild Weather
Wild weather over the weekend left some farmers are assessing the damage. Powerful winds and heavy rain hit some fields hard, with down corn as a result. after weekend rains and winds hit some fields hard.
The storms over the weekend brought much-needed moisture across the Corn Belt, which could help boost crop condition ratings that continue to fall. USDA's Crop Progress report posted Monday shows nationally, the corn crop dropped another 3 points in good to excellent ratings.
The storms also carried crop damage. Eric Schwenke of Chrisman, Ill. shared on Twitter the aftermath in his area. Located in the east-central Illinois, he says the field was able to bounce back within a couple days with the majority of the corn standing up again.
Farming is always very fun. pic.twitter.com/E9JPArw41Z — Eric Schwenke (@NKY_Corngrower) June 19, 2021
In southern Ohio, farmers faced similar damage. Mike Hacker farms in Blanchester, Ohio, and says his fields looked better Monday, but he was still searching for solutions to help protect the plants from stress.
Southern Ohio! pic.twitter.com/Cn58fDHV1i — Mike hacker (@Mikehacker10) June 19, 2021
Iowa saw some damage, as well. The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down just south of the city of Bernard, Iowa. The storm carried winds of up to 100-miles per hour. Meteorologist Andrew Pritchard of Nutrien Ag Solutions shared this picture of the tornado from Sunday evening.
Struggles with Drought
Producers in portions of Minnesota received a trace of rain last weekend while other areas saw more than an inch, but Tim Dufault says his hopes for the winter wheat crop are drying up. Dufault says Northwest Minnesota is extremely dry, only receiving three inches of rain since April 1, 2021.
The Eastern part of the HRS #wheat belt received up to 1.2" of rain Sunday. Most areas under 1". My farm had .63".
Not enough to turn around this crop. More heat this week.
Since April 1st, I have received just 3.35".#CropWatch21 #oatt #AGwx pic.twitter.com/QUMPyoMaYO — Tim Dufault (@6dollarwheatguy) June 21, 2021
Dufault points out with more heat expected this week, the moisture last weekend won't be enough to turn the area's wheat crop around.
Too Much Moisture
The Southeast is getting hammered with more rain this week. The central Gulf Coast got hit over the weekend by Tropical Storm Claudette. It marked the first storm to make landfall this Atlantic hurricane season.
The Tropical Storm hit the coast near New Orleans and then made its way inland, dumping heavy rain in Mississippi. The storm also spawned at least one tornado near the Florida state line.
The storm then regained tropical storm strength Monday as it neared the coast of the Carolinas.
