USDA's Joint Ag Weather Facility has provided the following weekly weather/crop highlights:

• EUROPE: Widespread Rain Eases Drought In Spain, Favors Northern Crops
  - Additional, much-needed rain eases drought in Spain and improves soil moisture for reproductive wheat and barley. Heavy rain also alleviates short-term dryness and boosts irrigation reserves in Italy.
  - Widespread showers favor vegetative winter crops in England, France, and Germany.

• NORTHWESTERN AFRICA: Additional Rain Benefits Crops In Morocco
  - Heavy rain benefits reproductive to filling winter grains in Morocco but is too late for maturing crops.
  - Widespread showers in Algeria and Tunisia benefit reproductive winter wheat and barley.

• MIDDLE EAST: Showers Favor Winter Grain Development
  - Widespread showers slow cotton planting but favor winter crop growth from Turkey into western Iran.

• FSU: Western Rain Contrasts With Eastern Warmth And Dryness
  - Periods of rain across Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia slow fieldwork but boost soil moisture for winter wheat, barley, and rapeseed.
  - Warm, dry weather favors field preparations for spring wheat planting in Kazakhstan and central Russia.

• SOUTH ASIA: Increasing Pre-Monsoon Showers In The East
  - Hot weather continues throughout most of India.
  - Pre-monsoon showers increase moisture reserves in eastern India and Bangladesh, well in advance of the main growing season.

• EAST ASIA: Beneficial Rain For Winter Wheat
  - Widespread showers boost soil moisture for reproductive winter wheat on the North China Plain.

• SOUTHEAST ASIA: Local Rice Harvest Delays In Java, Indonesia
  - Localized flooding cause minor delays for rice harvesting in western Java, Indonesia.

• AUSTRALIA: Mostly Dry But Relatively Cool
  - In southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, mostly dry weather favors summer crop harvesting, but cooler-than-normal weather slows crop maturation.

• SOUTH AMERICA: Lingering Pockets Of Dryness In Brazil
  - Pockets of dryness linger in sections of southern and central Brazil, reducing moisture for secondary (safrinha) corn.
  - Warm, dry weather aids drydown and harvesting of corn and soybeans in large sections of central Argentina.

• SOUTH AFRICA: Cool And Dry; Possible Frost Damage To Corn
  - Cool, dry weather slows maturation of summer crops, with frost raising concerns for potential damage to immature corn.

• MEXICO: Seasonal Showers Continue Across the North And East
  - Rain increases moisture for corn and sugarcane in eastern production areas, as scattered showers boost moisture levels for winter grains and pastures in parts of the north.

See Comments