Columbia, Missouri – The USDA Crop Progress report released on September 8 rated 63% of the Missouri corn crop as good to excellent, while 55% of soybeans were rated good to excellent. The Crop Production report, released September 11, forecasts Missouri corn yields to drop in 2026 by 4 bushels per acre (bpa) from an average of 185 bpa in 2025 to 181 bpa in 2026. Missouri soybean yields are expected to remain the same from 2025, with a forecasted yield of 50 bpa.
Moderate, severe, and extreme drought coverage grew across south-central and southwest Missouri, where significant short-term precipitation deficits and soil moisture deficits continued to build. Widespread agricultural drought impacts are occurring across those regions due to the conditions and an early-autumn heat wave, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Short-term moderate drought also expanded in northeast Missouri, and abnormal dryness expanded across much of the state. The latest data released September 10 shows 46.99% of Missouri is abnormally dry, 17.83% in moderate drought, 9.89% in severe drought, and 6.03% in extreme drought.
“At this point, the weather impacts from rain (or lack thereof) are becoming very minimal as grain fill is almost complete or completed in fields in my area,” said Jared Roskamp, technical service representative with BASF. “The heat did help with dry down for moisture in corn, as well as helping progress soybeans into maturity.”
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According to the Crop Production report, Missouri farmers are expected to harvest 628.07 million bushels of corn across 3.47 million acres, down from 677.10 million bushels across 3.66 million acres in 2025. Corn is mostly into the black layer stage of growth, and 14% of the state’s corn has been harvested, up from 5% the prior week. For soybeans, 21% of the crop was dropping leaves as of September 6, up from 6% the week before, with the heat accelerating leaf drop in many fields.
