Editor’s note: From May 31 through harvest Farm Progress is tracking crop conditions in Missouri and Kansas. Check back every Friday for the latest or follow along the #Grow24 journey on Facebook and Twitter.

Midwest crops reached the silking, dough, blooming, squaring and headed stage in the production cycle and farmers are adjusting for the second half of the growing season.

It is set up to be a year of extremes. High, dry heat last week gave way to this week’s torrential rains.

Farmers may have referred to the first batch of precipitation as a “million-dollar rain,” when it comes 5.1 inches at a time, it’s hard to soak in.

Here’s what farmers deal with in the coming weeks:

Is there an upside to rainfall on July 4? Yes.

While the nation stops to celebrate its freedom, farmers can do the same.

It provides the much-needed time for farmers to get out of the fields and reflect on the crop. And that is what we’ve given to our contributing farmers — Kansas farmer Alex Noll and Missouri farmer Renee Fordyce.

After 5 weeks of reporting weekly crop conditions, they deserve a break. But don’t worry they will be back next week with all the photos and updates from their family farms.

So, take time to catch up with them by flipping through the photo gallery. You will get a field view of their crop’s progress from the beginning.

Just for fun

Not sure which of the listed crops in the introduction do what? Here’s an explanation.

Want to know how these weather and crop reports may impact markets? Check out the Morning Market Review.