Monday afternoon's showers were nice. But they were far from enough for local farmers to salvage a bumper crop of grains and vegetables because of recent searing heat and scant rainfall.

"In the last week, we've lost a lot of yield production we won't get back, even if it rains," said Jeff Stoltzfus, adult farmer adviser of the Eastern Lancaster County School District.

He was referring to the effects on Lancaster County's key field corn crop following the hottest week in 45 years.

"I think we've lost a lot of our yield potential," Stoltzfus said. "Now, it's just a matter of how much more are we going to lose as we go forward."

Other staples such as soybeans and alfalfa are similarly suffering from the double whammy of extreme heat and a lack of rain that even with Monday's modest showers is 2.4 inches below normal for the month of July.

"There's no question we're not going to have an excellent production year. The next week will determine how bad it is," said Leon Ressler, director of the Lancaster County Extension office.

Unfortunately, weather forecasters see no soaking rain in the next week, only the possibility of hit-or-miss thunderstorms Thursday through Saturday.

After a welcome break, high humidity and temperatures in the 90s will return on Friday, according to Eric Horst, Millersville University meteorologist.

AccuWeather.com said Monday that storm tracks will continue to stay just to the north of Pennsylvania, continuing a dry, warm pattern over the commonwealth for the next few weeks.

And the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor places southeastern and northwestern Pennsylvania in an "abnormally dry" zone, along with most of the Midwest.

In addition to farmers who now face declining income from poor yields while having to buy more feed for their livestock and poultry operations, local gardeners and produce growers also face challenges.

For those growing produce, when temperatures rise above 95 degrees tomatoes, pumpkins and watermelons abort flowering.

Also, prolonged heat tends to accelerate the ripening of produce such as sweet corn and cantaloupe.

Corn at roadside stands and markets may dry up sooner this summer, suggested Stoltzfus.

The wilting heat also affects dairy cows' ability to produce milk.

"They're just like the rest of us, when it gets hot, they lose their appetite and if they don't eat they don't produce as much milk," Stoltzfus said.

This year's production woes took seed when an unusually wet spring delayed planting. Desperate farmers had to plant in moist soil that compacted when it dried out, It's harder for plant roots to penetrate deeper into the hard-packed earth for moisture.

Adequate moisture in June helped root systems, but it has been dry since then. Even with Monday's tenth-of-an-inch of rain, it has only rained 1.19 inches the entire month, according to the Millersville University weather station.

Then came the heat wave, with seven straight days of temperatures above 90 degrees from last Monday through Sunday.

The heat comes just as corn is developing tassels for pollination. Extreme heat and dryness causes pollen to shrivel up before pollination. Underdeveloped ears result, said Ressler.

In the New Holland area, Stoltzfus estimates corn yields are down 30 to 40 bushels per acre. Yields of 200 bushels per acre are routine in good years.

That means local farmers who sell corn won't be able to take advantage of high corn prices. And it means that farmers who can't grow enough corn to store to feed their livestock this winter will have to purchase it at high prices.

Local poultry and swine producers buy most of their feed.

The season's fourth cutting of alfalfa will probably be short, Ressler said, and late plantings of soybeans may be stunted.

If poor conditions continue, Ressler sees an emergency harvest of corn to salvage it for silage as a possibility in August.

Said Stoltzfus, "I have a friend who grows potatoes. You just kind of keep your distance until it rains again.

"It's just one of those stresses you can't control, but it's hard to sit there and watch your investment just dry up."

VIDEO: AccuWeather Forecast

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