Nebraska corn crop progressing well

USDA said today said 53 percent of Nebraska’s corn crop was silking as of July 19. That is 12 points ahead of last year’s crop but 7 points behind the five-year average.

Timely rains have come to many parts of the state and a break from extremely hot conditions should help pollination along nicely.

Add to that the fact that 82 percent of the state’s corn crop remains in good to excellent condition and it is easy to understand why Nebraska farmers are fairly optimistic about this year’s crop potential. For more details about the crop, check out this week's Crop Progress Update from the Nebraska Corn Board.

USDA said 71 percent of the nation’s corn crop was in good to excellent condition as of July 19, unchanged from last week but better than last year's 65 percent at this time. The late planting in some states, however, has only 31 percent of the crop in the silking stage - the same as last year and 23 points behind the five-year average.

For the full USDA crop progress report, click here.

This week's photos came to the Nebraska Corn Board from the Chase County FFA Chapter. The top one shows distant rain rolling across the countryside, while the bottom one shows corn silking.