Heat, insufficient rain could hurt Indiana soybean crops

By Elise Brown
September 14, 2010

Intense heat and lack of rain late in the summer has hit part of Indiana's soybean crop hard, likely leading to lower yields for some farmers even as a U.S. Department of Agriculture report forecasts the crop rebounding from a month ago.

Shaun Casteel, soybean specialist and assistant professor of agronomy at Purdue University, said Indiana's hotter- and drier-than-normal conditions during the first two weeks of August brought on heat and water stress, which could shorten the seed-fill period.