Rain Needed in Warm Dry Spring in US Corn Belt

May 21, 2012

Temperatures have been incredibly warm in the US heartland over the past 30 days with not enough rainfall to compensate.    Field moisture is declining over  a widening swath of the grain belt.    By and large, Midwest field moisture is abundant in the spring,   as soil profiles are recharged from winter rain and snowmelt.   

The drier weather pattern this spring has allowed for rapid planting of corn and soybeans, but the downside has been a steady decline in field moisture.    Dryness has developed in a wide swath from the Central Great Plains into Missouri, Illinois and Indiana and including the Mid South.  This affects winter wheat and corn growing areas... subscribers continue to full story...