Much has changed since the US Department of Agriculture on Aug. 12 forecast a record large US corn crop, the second-largest soybean crop ever and record-high average yields for both. A derecho storm flattened hopes of record corn production, and encroaching drought further eroded corn and soybean yield prospects. Meanwhile, the threat of an early winter appeared with sub-freezing temperatures in parts of the Upper Midwest a week ago, which may threaten some late-maturing crops. Probably the greatest interest is in corn, and specifically corn in Iowa, the nation's top producing state. The USDA's good-to-excellent rating for the Iowa corn crop on Aug. 9 (just before the Aug. 10 derecho ravaged about 40% of the cropland in Iowa with hurricane-force winds) was 69%. That rating has dropped weekly since, with the crop rated 43% good to excellent on Sept. 6.
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