USDA’s Joint Ag Weather Facility has provided the following weekly weather/crop highlights:
EUROPE: Warm, Rainy Weather Exposed Winter Crops
- Warm, wet weather melted much of the region’s protective snow cover, exposing winter grains and oilseeds to the elements.
- Showers across southern Europe favored vegetative winter wheat.NORTHWESTERN AFRICA: Showers Lingered In Eastern Crop Districts
- Additional showers benefited vegetative winter grains in Algeria and Tunisia.
- Sunny skies promoted winter wheat growth in Morocco after recent rainfall.MIDDLE EAST: Mild, Wet Weather Persisted
- Warm, wet weather from Turkey into Iraq and Iran maintained favorable moisture reserves for winter grains but kept much of the region devoid of a protective snow cover.FSU: Snow Returned
- Snow returned, insulating winter crops from potential incursions of bitter cold.SOUTH ASIA: Mild Weather For Wheat And Rapeseed
- Beneficially mild weather across northern India aided wheat and rapeseed development, as wheat nears reproduction and rapeseed begins to ripen.EAST ASIA: Some Showers For Winter Crops
- Light showers boosted moisture reserves for dormant wheat and rapeseed on the North China Plain and in the Yangtze Valley.
- Warm weather facilitated greening of rapeseed in portions of southern China as well as field preparations for early-crop rice.SOUTHEAST ASIA: Showers Favored Reproductive Rice In Java
- Heavy monsoon showers continued across Java, Indonesia, maintaining abundant moisture supplies for reproductive rice.AUSTRALIA: Oswald Soaked Summer Crops Before Slowly Departing
- The remnants of tropical Cyclone Oswald continued to cause local flooding in southeastern Queensland and eastern New South Wales, but the widespread, soaking rains benefited dryland cotton and sorghum.SOUTH AMERICA: Dryness Lingered In Key Production Areas
- Showers returned to Argentina, but pockets of dryness persisted in high-yielding central corn and soybean areas.
- Lingering dryness reduced moisture for corn and soybeans in southern Brazil, but ample rain benefited most crops throughout central Brazil and the northeast interior.SOUTH AFRICA: Warm, Showery Weather Maintained Favorable Summer Crop Prospects
- Showers and summer warmth benefited corn and other rain-fed summer crops advancing through reproduction.
