The dry conditions come as corn is nearing its pollination phase, a critical six- to eight-day period that will help determine fall yields, said Joe Lauer, an agronomist at UW-Madison and an expert in corn research.
“It’s really a pretty critical time for just getting the kernel developing,” said Lauer, who has 14 sites around the state that hold 13,000 plots of more than 400 types of corn hybrids. “We need rain terribly. It’s just incredibly dry at this point. The corn actually looks pretty good yet, but we’re entering a critical phase.”