Extreme heat and no rain are taking their toll on local crops.
The weekly U.S. Department of Agriculture crop report shows more corn in Iowa and Illinois has been downgraded from excellent to good condition.
The National Weather Service says that's a result of drought conditions.
With both states seeing the majority of farmland with dry soils.
Denser soils are better able to hold and release whatever moisture we get more slowly.
Providing a longer lasting source of water for thirsty corn plants.
But because it's been so dry those soils are drying up too.
And the stress on the corn is raising prices in the grain market.
Whiteside County Farm Service Agency Executive Rich McDonnell says, "If yields go down to say 125, 150 a bushel, corn could go up to seven fifty a bushel."
And those yields are not looking good right now. And with more heat in the forecast, the prices keep going up.
"Corn is up like 18 cents and beans are up 30 cents," says McDonnell. It's too early to predict if area farmers will experience as bad a summer as 1988. But worries are mounting.
"These kinds of temperatures especially coming at this time of the year with the pollination just starting up."
Whiteside County farmer Steve Wetzel says his crop looks ok.
His 500 acres of corn got a much needed inch of rain this weekend.
"We were very, very dry, it was still ok but it wasn't going to be long before we were going to be in real critical shape."
Because his corn is drinking up two tenths of an inch of moisture right now. Moisture most farmers lack.
"In this ground, we will still have a crop, but you get in the sandier soil, they need more water, they don't have enough to give them a crop," says Wetzel.
High crop prices will help protect farmers who lose good corn to the heat. But McDonnell says those prices don't make up for total losses.
"The next few weeks are crucial so it'd sure be nice if things would break, and things would cool down a bit."
Not all of the corn crop is in its most critical growth stage at this point.
But farmers want to see plenty of water and less heat when the corn is pollinating itself.
Soybeans are about a month away from their make or break point.
