Weather forecasts for the U.S. Midwest show no significant threats to the corn and soybean crops over the next 7-10 days which should maintain favorable crop conditions over most of the region.

USDA rated the U.S. corn crop 72% good/excellent as of Sunday, unchanged from a week earlier and 2 percentage points above a year earlier, while U.S. soybean conditions were rated 67% good/excellent, unchanged from a week earlier and a year earlier.

The latest 6- to 10-day and 8- to 14-day forecasts issued by the National Weather Service on Tuesday afternoon continued to show above-normal temperatures across the entire Midwest as well as the Delta and the Great Plains regions for Aug. 2-10.

However, private forecasters generally see normal to slightly above-normal temperatures, with no extreme heat over the next week to 10 days.

The NWS forecast also calls for above-normal rainfall across the entire Midwest, which will help crops avoid heat stress. Private forecasters generally see normal to above-normal rains.

 The warm weather should help keep crop development ahead of normal. Through Sunday, 84% of U.S. corn was silking, up from only 52% of last year’s late crop and well ahead of the five-year average of 70%.

USDA reported that 17% of the U.S. corn crop had reached the dough stage by Sunday, up from 7% a year ago and the five-year average of 13%.

Soybean development also remains a bit ahead of normal with 75% of the soybean crop blooming as of Sunday against only 60% a year earlier and an average pace of 72%.

USDA estimated that 35% of the soybean crop was setting pods against 19% a year earlier and an average pace of 31%.

In the top producing state of Iowa, the corn crop was rated 70% good/excellent as up Sunday, up 1 percentage point from a week earlier, but the portion of the state’s crop rated excellent jumped 6 points to 27%.

In the second largest producing state of Illinois, the corn rating slipped to 65% good/excellent from 67% previously.

The Illinois crop is developing well ahead of normal with 41% in the dough stage against a five-year average of 21% and 3% already in the dent stage.

Iowa soybeans were rated 71% good/excellent, up 2 percentage points from a week earlier, while the Illinois soybean crop was rated 63% good/excellent, down 1 point from the previous week.