Throughout the summer growing season, the 2026 crop has experienced weather extremes ranging from cold and wet conditions to hot and dry. Burrus Area Manager Josh Oaks says the crop has had to endure plenty of ups and downs since planting began.
“We started off, and it was actually kind of cool and wet to start with. Then we got a break, got a lot of the crop in, and then what do we do? Well, we turned off, and we had just like a short mini drought, if you will,” shares Oaks.
“Then the rain kind of turned back on for a little while, and then we got through July. I thought things looked pretty well at that point in time, and then here in August, I don’t think anyone expected a nine to 11-inch rain in August, and then now we sit here and we’re sitting at 90-plus degrees this week for six, seven days. So there’s definitely been some extremes in this crop throughout, starting in April.”
Oaks adds the extreme heat has caused some corn stalks to start deteriorating faster than some farmers were hoping.
