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[Frenchfry]

I noticed the thermometer in our backyard said 103 point something earlier in the day yesterday.
According to the memory, at some point it was over 113....maybe the sun hit it directly.

It cooled down after the early evening lightning show...it was cooler outside than it was inside.

Lots of fireworks displays in the 'hood so we had ringside seating.

With a little effort we could even see the stars.

Early this morning the wind was gusting big-time....seemed like gale force winds...had to batten down the hatches.

It would be foolish to deny the effect of climate change.

[Professor H]

102 today in my car after riding a while, home now and notice the birds enjoying my birdbath. 

[Skittelroo]

117 on the thermometer in our garage! 

[Frenchfry]

Backyard reads 92.8 @ 5:38 p.m. but the memory states it hit 107.8 at some point...not sure if the memory goes back 12 or 24 hours.

[Skittelroo]

102 today in my car after riding a while, home now and notice the birds enjoying my birdbath.

I've noticed even the birds have been scarce.   Just had a touch of rain and even they (birds) seem happier, too.   82 degrees out now, what a relief.

[Frenchfry]

82 here in the Beach area...just thunder...no rain

[Maverick]

Just watched an eagle scoop a fish out of the lake and head out over the highway in Grayling where the weather has turned for the better finally..

[Skittelroo]

Just watched an eagle scoop a fish out of the lake and head out over the highway in Grayling where the weather has turned for the better finally..

Grayling, hey?   Great place to be.    I have family a bit further north, just outside Gaylord (Johannesburg, to be exact).   I don't get up there as often as I'd like.   You set me yearning for another trip now.........soon!

[Skittelroo]

I see green grass again! 

[livewire]

I see corn that is dying.

This is going to be a bad year for a lot of farmers.
Here are some comments from farmers across the country. 




    7/6 - Fayette, Ill.: Corn is done. What’s left wildlife will eat. Beans are hanging on. Cows eating hay. Thinking about next year.

    7/6 - Lancaster County, Neb.: Corn pretty much all tassled. Here in East NE I have heard we are the garden spot, well a nice garden needs a little rain sometime. We still look good but could use a real good soaker soon. Temps around 100 and no rain in sight. Irrigation running full steam but we are all dryland so Mother Nature will have to provide. Our est. yield could still be anywhere from 75 to 180.

 

    7/6 - Summer County, Tenn.: Hot and dry, corn crop was already in bad shape before last week but the triple digit temperatures really have finished it off for good. Everything is burnt up.

 

    7/6 - Robertson County, Tenn.: Corn is burnt up a lot doesn't have an ear double crop beans are half up have not had any rain since the middle of May by the way the frost got the wheat too. (Read more wheat-related comments at AgWeb's www.VirtualWheatTour.com)

 

    7/6 - Atchison County, Mo.: Our corn and beans looked excellent up to a week ago. Rain two weeks ago carried us through initial week of 100+ temps. Hot winds starting to tell on pollination in corn. Beans should still do well if we can get rain.

 

    7/6 - Meade, Kan.: We have been real dry since May 1st no measurable since then. Wheat harvest has not good. Corn is trying to hold on too much heat and wind last week. The corn is better than last year, not any has been silaged yet. The native pastures didn't recover any this spring. We need a lot of moisture over several months to get replenished. A shot of rain over the weekend maybe!!!! (Read more wheat-related comments at AgWeb's www.VirtualWheatTour.com)

 

    7/6 - East central Iowa: Our hay was cut July 4 and I was able to bale it on July 5…talk about dry! Video courtesy of scotthinch’s YouTube channel.

 

    7/6 - Central Lafayette County, Wis.: This Sunday will be 4 weeks without a rain.  That rain was .5 to 1" in our area.  Before that it was 2 weeks and we had 1.2".  Corn is tasseling, and overall we were amazed it was hanging in there, but the last 4 days have really taken the toll.  You can see white spots where soil is lighter and bottom leaves are turning brown.  Last drought was in 1988, and we figured 70 bushel was always a given, but if no rain comes in a week or two, that might be hard to achieve.  Sold some corn for $6.50 fall delivery, an amazing price, yet wonder if this keeps up, what price will corn be if we get 40 bushel or less? Beans are blooming and hanging in there.  For those who got recent rains, feel very lucky.

 

    7/6 - Crawford County, Ill.: We have a whole lot of 0's here. Most corn cooked weeks ago.


    7/6 - Logan County, N.D.: Need rain bad in a hurry corn looks good except on sandy soil afternoon it’s turning the leaves soybeans are just standing still some look good some look like crap. Looks to me like wheat won't fill all the way probably will have small shriveled kernels. Corn really grew in last 2 weeks and some soybeans did also. Corn is anywhere from 3-5' soybeans are from 2"-10" 70% chance of rain to night, we'll see. (Read more wheat-related comments at AgWeb's www.VirtualWheatTour.com)

 

    7/6 - Arkansas: Corn crops look good last watering rice crop looks good some grass showing up nothing to hurt yields most of rice is heading some early planted should drain in two weeks bean crop is there but if no rain in a week or two it's going to go down fast lot of reservoirs are at low level can hang on about one more week then it's going to get ugly best price for beans I've ever seen and too scared to book any.

 

    7/6 - Sioux County, Iowa: Corn is 6 to 8 foot tall and tasseling and quickly turning into onion tops from lack of rain. Beans are about a foot tall and begging for rain. No rain in sight so we are praying a whole bunch!

 

    7/6 - Greeley County, Neb.: Dryland crop are gone. Was hoping for some rain so they would make silage. But haven't gotten any. We have only had 0.41" since June 1 and 2.25" since May 1st. Pastures are gone and have had to start feeding cows. The first two cuttings of hay was less than 20% of normal and it doesn't look like there will be a third. Trying to decide if I should sell the cows or spend $40,000 on hay.

 

    7/6 - Lenawee County, Mich.: Hot…dry…bad... Corn is rolling most of the day, beans hanging in but need a good rain. Our wheat was below average, cannot plant in November and any good come of it. Heard of some good wheat down the road about two miles, ave 100 bu. (Read more wheat-related comments at AgWeb's www.VirtualWheatTour.com)

 

    7/6 - LaGrange County, Ind.: Corn is totally done. I have no doubt that the corn head will not even come out of the barn this fall. Soybeans are 6-8 inches tall and flowering, but with only a few flowers. If they made 20 BPA at this point I would be surprised.

    7/5 - Northern Stearns County, Minn.: Corn about to tassel and definitely needs a drink. It is amazing how fast corn can use up soil moisture. We had 3" of rain a few weeks ago, and it is all but gone. Corn went from knee-high to tasselling in 12 days. Corn was curling in yesterday’s 100° temps on the higher ground. Soybeans blooming, but out of water, except in the low ground. It's do or die the next few days. I am guessing we lost some yield off the top.
     

    7/5 - Lincoln County, S.D., and Sioux County, Iowa: National drought maps do not show this area in a drought status?? In May 2012 we had excellent rain. Other than May 2012, from July 1, 2011, through July 5, 2012, we have had no rain. None. Corn is tasselling out of necessity, beans are very short, and the cracks in the fields are wide. Small towns are water rationing. Like others, heat of 95°F plus takes its toll daily. The reason we have standing plants is the rain of May.

 

    7/5 - Evansville, Ind.: We finally got some rain, 1¾".

    7/4 - Southwest Nebraska: Dry is an understatement around here...it's just plain miserable. We have only had 5" since Jan. 1, nothing over 60 hundreds in one shot. It's been anywhere from 95°-114° every day for the past three weeks, with dry south winds. Most of the dryland corn is burned up and not tall enough to make silage. Irrigation wells are struggling to keep up, some guys are abandoning irrigated fields to save others. Even the milo doesn't look like it's gonna make it. Surprisingly the dryland beans are still optimistic about a rain, they are holding on but not growing. The cow situation is dire. The pastures never greened up this year and our hay crops are only a third to nothing of normal. Massive culling will expand soon. The wheat crop was fair if it was on fallow ground, otherwise it was a federal crop claim. This is the first year in a long time that we are not harvesting wheat during the Fourth of July, the only problem is all the festivities are canceled because of the high fire danger. (Read more wheat-related comments at AgWeb's www.VirtualWheatTour.com)

    7/4 - Montgomery County, Mo.: Corn is cooked/zero. Seven straight days of 104+. More to come. Leaves falling like autumn. Beans starting to die out in clay spots and around tree lines. Wide spread in east central Missouri will be 0.

 

    7/4 - East central Iowa: We just got done cutting about 30 acres of third-crop hay. We did receive 1½" of rain in my immediate area. Video courtesy of scotthinch’s YouTube channel.

 

    7/4 - Ward County, N.D.: Hot, above-normal temps taking their toll on crops. Next two weeks, no sign of rain and temps in 90s. Wheat acres way down. Many farmers switched to more profitable crops. Winter wheat has no leaves left and not filled, drought heat stress took its toll. Very few wheat fields around. More sunflowers, and flax because of wet/late planting. Hard red spring wheat looks bad, shallow rooted, because of wet late planting now combined with drought stress took the crop out, heat pushing crop to develop. Sunflowers look great. (Read more wheat-related comments at AgWeb's www.VirtualWheatTour.com)

 

[Skittelroo]

Livewire, I'm really sorry about the crops this year.  It sounds dreadful everywhere.   It seems even a good rain now may be too late, am I right?  Does any crop do relatively well with such dryness?  Are those who have those huge moveable good watering systems faring better?  (I don't know what they are called, but they remind me of giant silver caterpillars)

I bought a few ears of corn at our Farmer's Market on Saturday and was surprised that the price was so low. 

[BigRedDog]

We took a ride last night...   check out the crops, look for deer...  watch the sun set...   a combination of things!

So, out the car window...

we saw some corn that is definitely looking stressed and right down the road the next field looked healthy as can be. 

BTW...   we didn't see any deer and we did see a very nice sunset

Looking out the window this morning, our lawn is definitely looking BROWN

[livewire]

Skit, if we got rain TODAY, yes, it would help many farmers.  But not all.  There are some fields where the entire crop is already dead.  Personally, I have a lot of low fields, meaning they are still surviving, and could bounce back with a good rain.  But that is not in the forecast.  No crops fare well with such dry conditions.  And those with irrigation systems do much better, but they are running them non-stop, which is very expensive.

This drought is MUCH worse than 1988, in my opinion.  And that was a pretty devastating year for a lot of farmers.


Many corn fields look pretty good - from the road.  They are green, for the most part, although they may appear kind of spikey.  Some are even tassling... which is not good, if there are no silks.  And notice the ones that were planted earlier, are in many cases doing much worse than fields planted later.  Those earlier crops are entering pollination now or even a week or two ago, during very hot, dry weather.  This can delay silking, and in a worst case scenario, prevent pollination completely.  That means no crop.  In my opinion, all corn fields in Monroe county have already taken an irreversible yield reduction of at least 20%, and in many cases, much more.  There are sections of some fields that are already a total loss.

USDA estimates for old crop carryover, as well as new crop yields, are WAY over rated, in my opinion (and many people much smarter than myself). 
If I am right, that means when the REAL numbers hit, you will see much higher commodity prices, meaning much higher everything.  There will NOT be enough corn and soybeans to supply world demand.  This has never happened before.

I figured I would some day live to see $10 corn, and $20 beans.
I never dreamed it would be this year, though.

[FritzTheKat]

I saw a Downy Woodpecker in the lilac bush.

[marilyn.monroe]

Amish have horse-drawn tanks and are watering by hand. Their farms average 150 acres. They seem to focus on the pumpkins. The commercial corn and beans are not doing well. The hilltops are all dried up.