Favorable harvest weather covers the Heartland

Weather

Favorable harvest weather covers the Heartland

Across the Corn Belt, dry weather remains favorable for corn and soybean harvesting and winter wheat planting. However, soil moisture has become limited for some recently planted soft red winter wheat. Cooler air is overspreading the Great Lakes region, where scattered frost was reported Thursday morning.

On the Plains, summer crop harvesting and winter wheat planting activities continue amid a warm, dry weather regime. However, winter wheat emergence delays have been noted in several states, including Nebraska (33% emerged, compared to the 5-year average of 49%), likely due to unfavorable dryness. On October 4, topsoil moisture was rated at least 60% very short to short in each of the Plains States from Oklahoma northward.

In the South, producers in the Mississippi Delta and central Gulf Coast region are bracing for Hurricane Delta. At 7 am CDT, early Thursday morning, the hurricane was centered 425 miles south of Cameron, Louisiana, moving toward the northwest at 15 mph. Where possible, producers in the path of the storm are harvesting crops such as cotton, rice, soybeans, and sugarcane.

In the West, drought continues to expand and intensify, with adverse impacts on rangeland, pastures, and native vegetation. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, 77% of the 11-state Western region was in drought on October 6. Western coverage of extreme to exceptional drought (D3 to D4) has increased to 35%, up from 5% just 3 months ago.

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