Past the mid-point of Nebraska’s corn crop development, this week’s USDA weather and crop report indicates another possible record corn crop that could top more than 1.6 billion bushels even though fewer acres were planted this year.

According to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, row crop development was now ahead of last year and near average for most crops. Monday’s report said that Irrigation was underway but limited because of mostly adequate soil moisture supplies.

“In some cases, dryland fields were said to be indistinguishable from irrigated because of the ample precipitation,” the report said.

In Nebraska, the difference between a record and non-record corn crop is how the dryland crop is doing as it supplements more than one-third of the state’s corn crop.

Last year, corn for grain production in Nebraska based on year-end surveys is estimated at 1.58 billion bushels, up 13 percent from last year and a record high, according to the USDA. Yield of 178 bushels per acre is 15 bushels above last year and highest of record. Farmers harvested 8.85 million acres of corn for grain, up 4 percent from 2008. Of that amount, 3.68 million acres were dryland.

Corn condition, according to the report, rated 1 percent very poor, 3 poor, 11 fair, 62 good, and 23 excellent. Irrigated fields were 83 percent good or excellent and dryland fields rated 87, both above year ago levels. Corn silked was 85 percent, ahead of last year’s 74 and 79 average. Corn in the dough stage was 9 percent, near 7 last year and 11 average. Because of the damp weather, aerial spraying of fungicides was active.