July Weather Took its Toll on Crops
The effects of this year's heat and dryness can be seen across many major crop-producing areas.
Compiled by staff
Published: Aug 8, 2011
Farm Futures has partnered with the Ecology and Agriculture Spatial Analysis Laboratory (EASAL) at Kansas State University to bring these maps to you. Each map is composed from satellite data taken over a two-week period. The EASAL maps show current vegetative health for the past two weeks and compare vegetative health with the previous two-week period, with the previous year and with the long-term average. Green reflects healthy vegetative development, while brown reflects a lack of healthy vegetative biomass production.
Satellite imagery shows active vegetative growth and development stretching from eastern Nebraska north and east into Minnesota, and then southeastward from there into northern Illinois. Vegetative health remains very poor across much of the drought-stricken Southern Plains, as well as much of the inter-mountain West.
Crop health is better than average in northwestern areas of the Midwest stretching north and west through the Northern Plains and into the Canadian Prairies. Vegetative health is extremely poor in the Southern Plains due to the intense heat and drought. However, areas of weaker than normal crop health can also be seen in the Mid-Atlantic and across much of the South.
Crop health improved modestly in the Delta due to scattered showers over the past couple of weeks. Improvement also occurred in spotty areas of the Mid-Atlantic and in the eastern Midwest. Some deterioration showed up in the Northern Plains, which may be a reflection of increased disease pressure in the wheat crop.
Satellite imagery shows better crop health than the previous year in many areas of the Northern Plains and northwestern Midwest, although some problem areas are beginning to show up in Iowa. Generally poorer vegetative health is seen across much of the South and in areas of the eastern Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Very poor vegetative health relative to the previous year due to intense heat and drought is apparent in the Southern Plains.
This graphic shows the average vegetative health for this time of year.
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Tagged: Drought, farm, wheat, farm futures, biomass production
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