Dry weather allows farmers more days in field

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The hot dry weather in Missouri over the last week seems to be helping farmers. The USDA crop reporting office in Columbia, Mo., says farmers on average had a little bit more than six good days to work in their fields last week. And the conditions seemed to help the state's corn crop the most, although top soil moisture contents seemed to be slipping quickly. According to the statistics office, corn was right on schedule throughout the state, and 63 percent of the crop was rated good to excellent. Soybeans were, on average, about two days ahead of schedule with 61 percent of the crop rated good to excellent. Cotton, rice, and sorghum are a week to two weeks behind schedule. Pasture conditions are declining rapidly with good and excellent categories dropping 16 percent from the week before. Across the state 48 percent of topsoil moisture was rated short to very short. Land was driest in west-central Missouri where 76 percent of the land was short to very short in moisture.