Mixed corn and soybean crop conditions reported across all growing regions

In the national news we continue to hear about the drought and extreme heat in the southern plains and western states, while the focus has been excess rain and flooding in places like Kentucky and the St. Louis area.
Even in the Upper Midwest there is a wide range of soil moisture and crop conditions across the region, with some areas getting very dry and approaching drought conditions, while other locations actually have received excessive rainfall.
Portions of the Upper Midwest received some much-needed rainfall this past weekend, ranging from a few hundredths of an inch to near two inches in some locations. Most areas received fairly small amounts of precipitation; however, the rainfall provided some much-needed temporary relief to crop deterioration in very dry areas.
The southern half of Minnesota provides a great example of the variability in rainfall during June and July. The U of M research site at Waseca in eastern south-central Minnesota received 4.36 inches of rainfall in June and 4.6 inches in July, for a two-month total of nearly 9 inches, which is less than an inch below average for that site.
By contrast, the U of M research site at Lamberton in southwest Minnesota received only 1.07 inches of rainfall in June and 1.59 inches in July, for a two-month total of only 2.62 inches, which is well below the long-term average of 7.73 inches for the two-month period.
There is a growing area of Minnesota extending from the south edge of the Twin Cities into south central Minnesota categorized as “moderate drought” or “severe drought” in the latest U.S. Drought Monitor on July 26.
A large portion of the southern half of the state (except for counties near the Iowa border) were listed as “abnormally dry” in the latest Drought Monitor.
According to the latest Drought Monitor” map, the areas categorized by some level of “drought” in the Drought Monitor have been expanding further into the portions of the Midwest in recent weeks.
Much of Nebraska, as well as portions of southern South Dakota and northwest Iowa are now categorized to be in either the moderate drought (D1) or severe drought (D2) category, with a small portion of northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa categorized in the extreme drought (D3) category.
Nearly the entire western third of the United States is in either severe, extreme or exceptional drought, with a majority of the region in the two top-level drought categories.
The Drought Monitor measures the overall long-term impacts of extended drought conditions, as compared to representing current crop conditions. This is why some areas that are listed in “moderate” or “severe” drought may still have fairly good crop potential with below average rainfall, provided that these areas have received some timely rainfall.
The weekly USDA Crop Report released on July 25 listed corn in the U.S. at 61 percent “good-to-excellent,” down from 64 percent a week earlier. However, there is a wide variation in the “good-to-excellent” crop ratings across the major corn and soybean-producing states.
The highest “good-to-excellent” corn rating was 80 percent in Iowa, which is the largest corn producing state in the U.S.  Minnesota was at 63 percent, slightly above the national average.  
The latest USDA Crop Report listed 59 percent of the U.S. soybean crop as “good to excellent,” which also declined by 2 percentage points from a week earlier. Wisconsin had the highest “good-to-excellent” soybean rating in the Midwest at 79 percent, followed closely by Iowa at 75 percent. Minnesota and North Dakota are at 62 percent, and South Dakota at 64 percent.
There is not a lot of historical correlation between weekly crop ratings in early August and final corn and soybean yields.
Timely August rainfalls and favorable growing conditions can enhance final yield levels in areas that are not in extreme drought conditions; however, lack of late season rain events can reduce final crop yields in the very dry areas.