Just about the time it appears that crop conditions seem to be improving, Mother Nature throws a new twist into the situation. After a very wet spring and late planting season in most of the Midwest, crop conditions had begun to improve in late June and early July in many areas. However, a series of severe storms in Minnesota and other Upper Midwest states in mid-July caused some crop damage, raising more questions about the quality of the corn and soybean crops. Many portions of Minnesota and surrounding states received nearly double the normal monthly precipitation during the first three weeks of July. Some areas received 5 to 8 inches of rain, or more, during the week of July 14-20 alone. Very hot and humid weather across the Upper Midwest that week raised dew points to extremely high levels, creating thunderstorms with excessive rainfall amounts. This resulted in some drown-out damage in corn and soybean fields, as well as continual saturated soil conditions. In addition, some storms included hail and high winds, causing leaned-over or broken corn stalks in some locations. The excessive rain is causing concern about the loss or lack of available nitrogen for the growing corn. Soil nitrogen losses increase substantially during heavy rainfall events such as those that have occurred this year. Corn plants in saturated soils have a more shallow root system and are not able to access the nitrogen that is deeper in the soil. In some cases, farmers have side dressed some nitrogen fertilizer; however, others have not able to apply any supplemental nitrogen because of the continually wet fields. Producers should evaluate the condition of the corn crop before deciding to invest in supplemental nitrogen this late in the growing season. The rain and wet soil has also impacted herbicide applications to control broadleaf weeds. Most weed control management systems for corn and soybeans rely on post-emergence weed control applications during the growing season, a real challenge in a year like this. The continued wet field conditions also have created issues for farmers trying to plant cover crops on prevented planted acres. One positive about the weather trend during the first half of July was the warmer than average, resulting in a rapid accumulation of growing degree units (GDU’s). The accumulation of GDUs at the U of M Southern Minnesota Research Center totaled 1,181 from May 1 through July 17, about 4 percent behind normal. This is a big improvement from early June, when the GDU accumulation was 20 to 25 percent behind normal. For comparison, 1,478.5 GDUs had been accumulated at Waseca by July 17, 2018. The warmer than normal temperatures have helped crops catch up a bit on crop growth. Some of the corn that was planted in the first half of May began to tassel and pollinate during the week of July 14-20, which is only a few days behind normal. The U.S. and Minnesota crop ratings in the weekly USDA Crop Progress Reports have remained fairly steady in recent weeks. The July 15 weekly report indicated that 58 percent of the corn and 60 percent of the soybeans in Minnesota were rated good to excellent, with 10 percent of the corn and 7 percent of the soybeans rated poor or very poor. Nationally, 58 percent of the corn and 54 percent of the soybeans were rated good to excellent. In the July 11  World Supply and Demand Report, USDA projected the U.S. average corn yield at 166 bushels per acre, and the soybean yield at 48.5 bushels per acre. Many analysts are questioning those estimates, based on the challenging growing conditions in many areas. Most analysts also are questioning the USDA’s 2019 crop acreage total in the report, which said there were 91.7 million acres in corn and 80 million in soybeans. Analysts think those numbers are too high. A July 22 Farm Service Agency report of planted acres should give a more accurate picture, although  the final number will not be known until 2019's harvested acres are totaled. Source - https://www.postbulletin.com