22 percent of state's corn, soybeans in "very poor or poor" condition

Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly

As of mid-July, 22 percent of Indiana's corn was in very poor or poor condition, and the same was true for soybeans, according to Purdue Extension agricultural economist Chris Hurt.

Indiana Ag Statistics (IAS) reported a yield of 144 bushels of corn per acre is projected based on July 15 crop conditions. That's about 12 bushels per acre less than normal.

"That's a pretty large reduction when we start looking at the dollar implications," Hurt said in a statement. "Our estimates show that would reduce the amount of revenue for corn by about $240 million across the state of Indiana."

According to IAS, corn is making good progress. As of July 15, two thirds of the corn was in pollination.

"The soybeans have never really looked good in the state this year," Hurt said. "We have generally been around 3 to 3.5 bushels per acre from our estimates lower than what we would expect normal yields to be."

Recent estimates show 3.6 bushels below the trend as of July 15, and that's about another $125 million of potential reduction, the IAS said.