With each passing day, McHenry County farmers are bracing for a less productive year for their crops because of sweltering temperatures and drought.

With temperatures in the mid-90s again Tuesday, farmers throughout the county said corn and soybeans are showing signs of stress as they enter the crucial months of July and August.

“The next three weeks are going to be critical,” said Bruce Meier, president of the McHenry County Farm Bureau. “Of course I’m concerned, but unless you have irrigation, there’s nothing much you can do about it. Whether or not Mother Nature is going to give us rain, that’s not really up to us.”