Weather

Wet, cold soils further delay fall fieldwork

Across the Corn Belt, cold weather and excess soil moisture levels are maintaining a slow pace of fieldwork, including late-season corn and soybean harvest efforts. Early Monday, rain showers are occurring in parts of the Ohio Valley, while snow showers are affecting the upper Great Lakes region.

On the Plains, below-normal temperatures are limiting winter wheat development, especially for the portion of the crop that was planted late due to wet conditions. In addition, harvest activities for a variety of crops, such as cotton and sorghum, remain behind schedule due to adverse weather and field conditions.

In the South, mild weather prevails across the southern Atlantic States in advance of a cold front. Farther west, however, showers and a few thunderstorms are developing in the western and central Gulf Coast States, maintaining a slow fieldwork pace as producers attempt to complete harvest activities for crops such as cotton and soybeans.

In the West, dry weather favors autumn fieldwork. In California’s wildfire-affected areas, recovery efforts continue in advance of an approaching storm system. In Butte County, California, the Camp Fire—which has resulted in at least 77 fatalities and the loss of more than 10,000 homes—is nearly two-thirds contained.

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