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Soil moisture goes from one extreme to the other

A USDA meteorologist says topsoils are drying out in parts of the country, causing stress to corn, soybeans and cotton.

Brad Rippey says topsoil moisture has declined significantly the last two weeks in the central and eastern corn belt.

“Areas that were flooded just a couple of short months ago and now all of a sudden more than 50% very short to short in states like Illinois and Michigan.”

He says corn and soybeans in those areas are struggling, especially later developing fields.

“They just don’t have the finer roots that are typically able to extract deep moisture that still exists. This is why we are seeing such significant stress on corn and, to a lesser degree, soybeans.”

Rippey says there are some light rains in the forecast, but not enough to overcome the challenges corn and soybeans have faced this year.

He says cotton in the southern high plains is also stressed from hot temperatures and drier soils.

“This has begun to take a toll on the Texas cotton crop and it looks like that trend with continue with topsoil moisture depleted and triple-digit heat.”

Less than half of the Texas cotton crop is in good to excellent condition.