Drought conditions worsen across Illinois

As expected the drought conditions across the Midwest have worsened with the the lack of any significant rainfall and the hot temperatures this month.  So far during the month of June we've only received 0.61" of rainfall putting us at a 3.64" deficit!   The drought conditions are beginning to become a concern for area wide farmers and unfortunately the one and two week temperature and precipitation outlooks continue to indicate dry and hot conditions through the middle of the country. 

The latest drought monitor was released this morning from the National Drought Mitigation Center in Nebraska and northern Illinois has now been classified under a moderate drought.  Soil moisture across northwest Illinois, both for topsoil and subsoil, are rated close to 90% short or very short.  The impact will soon be felt, if it hasn't already, in the agricultural communities.  Moderate drought suggests there may already be an impact to crop yields, but both corn and soybean are more sensitive to water shortages when they're in the reproductive stage and currently they're in the vegetative growth stage.  However, the corn crop will soon be entering into the reproductive stage and soybeans within a month.  The dry weather we've experienced lately could turn into a serious situation for area farmers if we don't receive a decent amount of rainfall soon.