The nation's drought-devastated corn crop slid further into crisis yesterday as the Department of Agriculture released its weekly crop progress report, showing significant declines in crop conditions throughout the Corn Belt.

Nearly all of the top 18 corn-producing states, which accounted for 92 percent of output in 2011, showed an increase in the percentage of crops in very poor or poor condition, despite an inch of rain having fallen in some areas over the weekend. Twenty-seven percent of Iowa's crop is in poor or very poor condition; in Illinois 56 percent falls in those categories. Seventy-one percent of Indiana's crop is in poor or very poor shape, and in Missouri, it is 72 percent.

Just 31 percent of the nation's corn crop is in good or excellent condition, according to the report.

Last week, USDA reduced its estimate of corn yields from 166 bushels per acre to 146, calling it the worst decline since 1988. Agricultural meteorologists yesterday at AccuWeather projected an even lower yield of 138 bushels per acre.

AccuWeather forecasts that temperatures will remain in the 90s this week across the Corn Belt with highs toward 100 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas, which could terminate some crops in the Midwest and Great Plains. High evaporation rates -- up to one-third of an inch per day -- exacerbate the already poor growing conditions brought about by weeks of record high temperatures and scarce rainfall. In the southern part of the agricultural heartland, AccuWeather said, "It is too late for the corn crop."

"From what we're hearing from farmers, this is really the make-or-break period of the corn season out there," said Andy Mussoline, a meteorologist with AccuWeather. "In other words, after a month of heat and dry conditions, unless they get some relief, they're left without any hope. And based on what we're forecasting, that's what we're seeing out there."

Accelerating delivery of aid

Drought conditions currently encompass more than 60 percent of the contiguous United States, according to latest the U.S. Drought Monitor report. The agency will update its drought map today.

Public officials are scrambling to respond to the crisis.

"Our hearts go out to all of those affected by this year's disasters," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement yesterday. "Without a robust package of disaster assistance programs available to struggling farmers and ranchers, it is important that USDA officials visit rural communities and talk with producers not only about their current options but also about the need for proper planning through these difficult times."

Vilsack and other top department officials have begun to fan out across drought-stricken states a week after expanding emergency assistance programs and declaring more than 1,000 U.S. counties in 26 states to be disaster areas.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) will hold a pair of town hall meetings today to discuss the impacts of the drought. In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn (D) yesterday announced a partnership between the Illinois Finance Authority and local banks aimed at accelerating the disbursement of financial support to drought-stricken farmers.

Quinn also requested that USDA designate an additional seven Illinois counties as disaster areas. The agency has already declared 26 Illinois eligable for disaster relief.

The deepening crisis in the agricultural sector caused corn prices, along with those for soybeans and wheat, to hit record highs yesterday, heightening concern about food price spikes.