A bit of rain last week put a little more moisture into Maryland’s soil. The weekly Weather & Crops report said 80 percent of the state’s topsoil is “short” to “very short” of moisture, down from 85 percent the week before.
Crop reports, however, remain dire. “Moisture and temperatures continue to limit crop growth and development,” a USDA reporter in Maryland said this week.
Fifty-three percent of the state’s pasture, 41 percent of the corn and 37 percent of soybeans are in “poor” to “very poor” condition.
(SUN PHOTO: Monira Al-Haroun, Patuxent Publishing, 2011)