DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Crops across Iowa and Nebraska are off to a good start this year but stress is beginning to show in some parts of the region from very hot and mostly dry conditions over the past week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Monday the leaves are beginning to curl on corn plants across the lower two-thirds of Iowa. The state saw half of the normal rain for the week during its seventh consecutive week of below normal precipitation and the fourth consecutive week with warmer than normal temperatures.

Nebraska also was hotter than normal but some rain helped much of the state except for south-central Nebraska.

Nearly 80 percent of the corn crop in both states is rated good or excellent and soybean emergence also is ahead of schedule.