UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Despite being parched by one of the hottest and driest summers in history, farm crops ready for harvest across Pennsylvania are at or above average volume and quality, according to experts in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

"The grass crops did surprisingly well, given the weather," says Marvin Hall, professor of forage management. "We had hit-or-miss rainstorms that provided just enough moisture in most places. As far as drought-like conditions, one valley would get enough rain while the next valley might not have. But overall, most farms got just enough rain to keep them going.

"Once you mow the hay, you like it to be dry and sunny until you can bale it and get it out of the field," Hall added. "One thing about this summer, we had good conditions for forage production. There may have been a few spots where it was just too dry for grasses to grow, but there was no widespread economic hardship from a lack of rain."

Brian Macafee, assistant manager of Penn State's farms around State College, believes the summer of 2005 will produce respectable yields. "It's true the rain has been spotty in locations," he says. "I won't know for sure until we start getting combines in the fields, but it looks like we will harvest average to above-average amounts of corn and soybeans. Because of the dryness, the alfalfa has suffered some, however. Grass crops, because of their shallower root systems, had an even tougher summer.

"Still, our wheat crop was better this year than the past several wetter years. This was actually partly due to the drier weather we experienced in June and July as harvest time drew near."

Considering the difficult growing conditions, corn performed somewhat better than expected in many areas of the Keystone State, says agronomy professor Greg Roth, a specialist in grain crops. He attributes that at least partially to the corn hybrids being grown in Pennsylvania.

"The stress-resistant hybrids that have been planted tolerate drought conditions much better than older hybrids," he says. "Other folks are seeing the same thing in the Midwest. Agronomists in other states are marveling at how well hybrid corn has done with very little moisture.

"Because of the warm spring weather, these also were the earliest-planted crops we have ever had in a lot of locations. Even though we had some areas that were hard hit by the drought, overall many crops did much better that I thought they would, considering the hot, dry conditions."

Another factor in corn doing well this summer, according to Roth, is that many farmers are using no-till planting practices. "The soil loses less moisture than with conventional tillage practices with corn," he says. "Also with no-till, there is a residue from the previous crop that acts as a mulch that traps moisture from rains and keeps soils cooler."

The whole year has been drier than normal, although not a record-breaker by any means, relates Bryan Swistock, a Penn State Extension water resources specialist. "After a fairly wet early spring, we had a pretty dry growing season," he says. "For May through August, it was the 20th driest out of 112 years of keeping records. Crops suffered from dryness in places, but it was spotty. One farm would have crop damage, and 20 miles down the road enough rain fell to keep crops healthy.

"Most of the effects so far have come on streams and crops," Swistock adds. "We really haven't seen much impact on groundwater yet, but that could become a real issue later if we don't get some rain or melted snow before the period for recharging groundwater ends when the ground freezes."

But the summer was the warmest ever for central Pennsylvania, he notes. "For the rest of the state, it was one of the top 10 warmest summers ever."

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EDITORS: Contact Brian Macafee at 814-865-4433 or by e-mail at brm112@psu.edu; Marvin Hall at 814-863-1019 or by e-mail at mhh2@psu.edu; Greg Roth at 814-863- 1018 or by e-mail at gwr@psu.edu; and Bryan Swistock at 814-863-0194 or by e-mail at brs@psu.edu.

Writer/Editor: Jeff Mulhollemoffice 814-863-2719 fax 814-863-9877