It is good news to hear the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) report slight improvement in corn and soybean conditions. Sunny and dry weather continued to pull moisture from crop fields, and farmers finally had six days available for fieldwork.

Topsoil moisture and subsoil moisture were ranked 69 and 73 percent, respectively. Thirty-six percent of the corn was rated in good condition and soybeans were close, at 37. Corn silking, doughing and denting had all increased over the previous week.

Ninety-four percent of soybeans were blooming and 83 percent were setting pods. Second cuttings for alfalfa hay hit 94 percent.

The Aug. 12 crop report estimated Indiana corn would average 158 bushels per acre compared to 2014’s yield of 188. Soybean yields were also projected to decrease from 56 bushels in 2014 to 49 this year.

Jeff Nagel, Ceres Solutions agronomist, shared the northwestern Indiana estimated crop yields of 156 for corn and nearly 50 bushel beans. “West-central Indiana is looking at 164 bushel corn and 49 bushel beans. The southwest crop reporting district gives the highest yield yet for 167 bushel corn and more than 50 bushel beans,” he said.

Nagel does warn that variability in corn yields will make yield estimates more difficult than normal this year. “Remember, kernel row number times kernels per row, times plants per acre, equals kernels per bushels. Excellent fill conditions are 75 to 80, average are 85 to 90 and poor are 95 to 105,” he said.

NASS also reported that weed pressures remain high.