Field-crop farmers in both regions said conditions were not dire yet, but heat and parched soil has stunted the growth of some of their crops.
The plants "jumped out of the ground, but after that, they slowed up because we weren't getting the rain," said Mark Scheetz, president of the Bucks County Farm Bureau. "The corn was really showing the stress of it . . . the leaves were starting to roll."
This week's forecast promises more hot, dry conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
Bill Bamka, an agricultural consultant with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Burlington County, said weather had weighed heavy on the minds of most growers he works with.
"Every time I stop at a farm, that's the subject: When are we going to get rain?" he said.
The brief downpour July 8 moistened fields and granted many farmers a reprieve, but a week of dry weather followed.
"These last few showers have kept things at bay, but there is concern about dryness," Bamka said.
The spotty showers helped some farms but missed others, including Howard Robinson's farm in Chester County.
Without more rain, the dry soil could result in reduced crop yields, according to Andrew Frankenfield, an agricultural educator with Pennsylvania State University's Montgomery County extension. At this point in the growing season, corn needs moisture to develop kernels, he said.
Low yields would mean regional corn and soy farmers miss out on higher-than-normal prices resulting from droughts and flooding elsewhere in the country, especially the South and Midwest.
Also, poor crops might force local farmers to incur costs buying feed for animals.
"Hopefully rain will come and will allow for a harvestable crop, and it won't be a total loss," Frankenfield said.
