U.S. corn yields set to plummet

Everything was humming along in the U.S. Corn Belt in middle July 2011 up until the 3rd week of July when a major heat-wave and dry spell hit much of the Eastern half of the U.S. and the U.S. Corn Belt. Let's compare 2016 with 2011. First, let's compare meteorological Summer 1 June - 13 July here in 2016 compared to the same period in 2011. Eerily similar only this Summer has been hotter/drier than 2011 so far, except in Texas. Actually the extreme June temperatures in the Western and Southern Corn Belt in June this year were much worse in 2016 than they were in 2011. The chart below shows the 25 year temperature and rainfall trends for the Corn Belt as a whole. 2016 was very near 2012 in terms of temperatures and much drier than 2011. This has taken the top line yields out of the equation for 2016 as many crops in S-W Iowa, Missouri and S. Illinois rolled for 3-4 weeks during the hot/dry June.