Evaluating the summer drought’s effects on area crops can be misleading if done only from a car window.

David Whitson, an agricultural adviser at the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service in DeKalb, said the green color of corn can deceive people into thinking the dry weather has not been as damaging as it really has.

“In 1983, for example, I saw fields looking excellent from the outside. But once I got inside the fields, I saw that the corn had hardly any ears—the heat had been held inside the field,” he said.

“The corn can look green and good, but due to the heat and dryness, there might not be any kernels produced. The drought weather impedes reproduction and prevents the emergence of silks in the corn ears,” Whitson said.

He said the silks are organs connecting pollen to the kernels.

Pollen viability in reproduction also is hurt by the heat, Whitson said.

He said he estimates 10 percent of DeKalb area fields will have little or no yield this year.

“We think that probably, if we have better weather from here on out, there could be about 50 percent of fields with normal yields,” he said.

The drought has resulted in rising food prices and an average income reduction of 30 percent for farmers, Whitson said.

“Some farmers will receive less than half their normal yearly income this year,” he said. “But this may be tempered some by government programs.”

Pam Huey, deputy press secretary for U.S. Senator Paul Simon (D-Ill.), said the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a $5.5 billion drought relief bill July 14.

She said, “The program entails disaster cash payments to those (farmers) with more than 35 percent losses in yields.” The bill should be “on the Senate floor” by the end of next week, Huey said.

Whitson said the recent, much-needed rains have “bought farmers some time,” but have not yet contributed to any reversal of drought effects.

“We should have about another week without trouble, … but we’ll be dependent upon at least one inch of rain a week,” he said.

Whitson said he was surprised at the number of crops that have done well during the drought, such as soybeans. He said some other states, such as Ohio and Indiana, had been hit harder by the drought than Illinois.

Richard Reesor, spokesman for the Greater Rockford Area National Weather Service, said the long-range forecast through August 15 calls for “lower precipitation than normal and above-average temperatures.

John Harrod, NIU Physical Plant director, said the dry conditions have created another potential outdoor problem: grassfires.

A discarded cigarette apparently ignited a small grassfire July 15 at Stadium Drives North and West, he said.

Several NIU groundsworkers and plumbers were able to subdue the 200 square foot fire with a nearby fire hydrant, and did not need to call DeKalb firefighters.

“Conditions will continue to be potentially hazardous and ripe for fires,” Harrod said. “We are urging people to keep their eyes open and to be careful when smoking.”

He said other potential fire-starters include hot mufflers on cars idling close to street curbs.