By Mark Badertscher, Extension Agent
The story of the week is that Hardin County is still in need of rain. 

If you look at the latest U.S. Drought Monitor website at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?OH, you will see that most of the county is now considered in ‘Moderate Drought’ as of Aug. 2. 

Checking crops around the county, more and more corn fields are showing stress during this critical time of kernel development.  Although the northern part of the county seems drier, parts of southern Hardin County are very dry as well. 

The interesting part about the corn stress, is that some fields are showing it more than others, even on the same road where rainfall was the same.  This could be the result of drought resistant hybrids, soil type, drainage, tillage, planting date, root development or a combination of more than one factor. 

Soybeans are beginning to show evidence of the dry weather as well with some fields having spider mites.  Soybean plants are shorter than usual and some have fewer and smaller pods at the nodes.