Soil Moisture Decreases in Indiana
Published: Friday, August 13, 2021
The following is from the Indiana Field Office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week ending Aug. 8.
Dry, hot weather depleted soil moisture reserves. Soil moisture levels decreased from the previous week, with 65 percent of topsoil moisture reported as adequate or surplus.
The average temperature for the week was 71.1 degrees F, 1.8 degrees below normal.
The amount of rainfall varied from 0 to 1.54 inches over the week. The statewide average precipitation was .24 inches.
There were 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork.
Topsoil moisture levels reported as adequate or surplus dropped 16 points from the previous week. Irrigation systems were utilized to combat depleting soil moisture levels. Coarse soils in unirrigated areas had been the most stressed during the past week.
While soybean crops in soggy, low-lying areas benefitted from the moisture depletion somewhat, corn and double-cropped soybeans were beginning to show signs of stress due to a lack of moisture.
Despite concerns, corn and soybean conditions remained mostly stable from the previous week with 74 percent of corn and 70 percent of soybeans rated in good to excellent condition.
Progress for all developmental stages for both corn and soybeans were progressing ahead of their respective five-year averages.
Dry weather spurred fieldwork as operators were busy with fungicide treatments, herbicide applications, hay harvesting and baling, roadside mowing, aerial cover crop seeding, field scouting and pest identification. The state fair was also in full swing last week.
Topsoil moisture was rated very short, 5 percent; short, 30 percent; adequate, 61 percent; surplus, 4 percent.
Subsoil moisture was rated very short, 5 percent; short, 27 percent; adequate, 64 percent; surplus, 4 percent.
The crop progress schedule (last week, previous week, 2020 and 5-year average) showed: corn silking, 96, 93, 96, 92; corn dough, 52, 31, 53, 49; soybeans blooming, 91, 85, 92, 86; soybeans setting pods, 66, 52, 68, 62; alfalfa hay, second cutting, 96, 92, 95, 94; alfalfa hay, third cutting, 51, 32, 39, 38; other hay, second cutting, 88, 80, 82, 84; other hay, third cutting, 33, 16, 23, 24.
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