News

Kentucky agronomist cautiously optimistic about U.S. corn as August approaches

A corn agronomist with University of Kentucky Extension says he’s cautiously optimistic about the U.S. corn crop.

“There’s a lot of things that could happen, but right now, we’re set up for some really good yields.”

Chad Lee tells Brownfield USDA’s estimate of the 186.5 bushels/acre average for corn is still realistic.

“You think back to the spring, a lot of the I-states really worried about getting their corn in the ground because they were wet early and then, they got a dry spell and put all of their corn in. A lot of that corn was planted in good conditions. It came up quickly, uniform and we’ve had the rains that support us throughout, especially during that heat dome.”

The USDA says 63 percent of the U.S. corn crop is rated good to excellent condition, a decline of four percentage points from the previous week. Twenty-five percent of the corn is in dough stage. Lee says weather in the rest of the growing season is critical.

“The entire U.S. crop depends on a good August.”

He says corn harvest is expected to start earlier than usual in Kentucky, and other parts of the Corn Belt, too.