Area farmers are thankful for last week’s rain on their corn – one of the county’s major crops – before the scorching heat rolled in this week.

“It’s (the heat) definitely had an impact, but the beneficial rains going into this heat could help sustain the crop,” said Jere White, executive director of the Kansas Corn Growers Assn. “By the end of this week, it’s going to probably need another pretty good drink.”

Overall, this week’s 100-degree temperatures and this summer’s relatively dry conditions have at least some Douglas County farmers and ranchers worrying about their corn, soybeans and pastures.

“It’s hard on everybody. It’s hard on the animals. Just trying to get chores done, we’ve got to start a little bit earlier in the day,” said Brenna Wulfkuhle, who runs a farm and ranch near Stull with her husband, Mark.

The average corn yield in the county has fluctuated during the past few years, with rainfall typically making the difference.

The average yield in the county is typically about 100 to 110 bushels per acre, White said. But it can be as good as 2004’s average of 141 bushels per acre or as low as 80, which occurred in 2003.

An irrigation system helps sustain corn Tuesday in northeast Lawrence. The hot-and-dry weather is taking a toll on crops in Douglas County. Farmers are thankful for last weekend's rain but are hoping for more. Otherwise, yields could be below-average.

“If we had not gotten rains last week and had the heat this week, we’d probably be looking at that 70-bushel range,” he said.

Douglas County extension agent Bill Wood said the conditions of the corn and soybean plants varied.

Wulfkuhle is hoping conditions improve: “We’re thinking and hoping for average, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it goes below average. Our ears aren’t filled all the way to the end.”

Mark Wulfkuhle works Tuesday afternoon in a field of alfalfa on his farm in Douglas County.

The heat and dry spell also has created hardship on pasture grass, forcing ranchers to feed hay to their cattle. Wulfkuhle said the family hoped to hold off on offering feed and silage to their cattle until mid- to late-August.

As for the county’s corn crop, White says some timely rain still could push it into an above-average yield.

“We pretty well always grow our crops under stress. If you had a year where you didn’t see some (plant) firing, that would probably be an unusual year,” he said.