Nebraska Corn Quality Continues to Decline

The punishing hot, dry weather continues to hammer the corn crop in the Midwest, and Nebraska corn is declining in quality as the drought continues on.

Soil moisture in the state continues to decline, as the hot and dry conditions, with the additional strong winds, is parching up the soil.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's most recent Monday report, corn in the areas of Nebraska which have irrigation, is rated at 70 percent good to excellent. Areas where it's dry has a good to excellent rating of only 35 percent.

Another problem is the temperature, which when it approaches 100 degrees can result in the kernels of the corn not pollinating, ending with an empty cob.

Last year in the same period the rating for Nebraska corn stood at 80 percent for an average, while in 2012 it's at 56 percent good to excellent on average.

For Nebraska soybeans, the ratings are 45 percent good to excellent, 52 percent fair to poor and 3 percent very poor.

Most grain experts say rain and temperatures need to change within the next couple of weeks in order for the corn season to be salvaged at meaningful levels.