Drought conditions are severe for agriculture, though relief could be in sight

June 30 (UPI) -- Recent rains across the United States have done little to ease woes in the agricultural sector, with data showing more than half of the corn and soybeans crops are in areas of drought.

Portions of the central United States had to contend with multiple rounds of dangerous storms as opposing air masses collided in mid-June. Soaring heat, particularly in the U.S. South, set the stage for explosive weather developments, from heavy rains to tornadoes.

Rainfall was heavy at times across the upper Midwest and into the Great Lakes states this week, and heat and humidity levels in the South could create conditions further for storm outbreaks. But a report from the Farm Journal on Friday shows it's not been enough to alleviate drought conditions.

"It's now estimated 70% of the U.S. corn crop and 63% of soybeans across the U.S. are covered in drought," it said.

That's an increase of 14% for corn and a 6% increase for soybeans relative to week-ago levels.

Illinois, where farmland spreads across the state south of Chicago, a severe drought is in place for 59% of the state, with 92% considered abnormally dry.

Further south in Missouri, severe drought is covering half the state. Apart from creating conditions that would support brushfires, the drought is curbing agricultural yields.

"Almost completely dry weather in Missouri and the southern two-thirds of Illinois led to widespread degradations, where streamflow and soil moisture continued to decrease amid mounting precipitation deficits, creating potential problems for corn and soybean production this growing season," the federal Drought Monitor stated this week.

Ole Hanson, the head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank in Denmark, said in a research note published Friday that this is the most severe drought to hit the U.S. farm belt since 2012.

"Grain prices nevertheless gave up most of their recent strong gains amid the outlook for a series of rainstorms forecast over the next two weeks, potentially stabilizing and improving crop conditions," he added.

Nevertheless, soybean futures were up nearly 6% in midday trading Friday.