October 8, 2003
Harvest of US Corn & Soy Crop Picking Up
"There is pretty good harvest weather for at least the next 5 days. Possibly the eastern Corn Belt may get a little wet late in the weekend or early next week, especially in Michigan, Indiana and in Ohio," said Meteorlogix forecaster Joel Burgio.
He said mostly dry weather would prevail in the key producing states this week with "a few showers in the west spreading east on Saturday and Sunday."
Burgio said occasional heavy rainfall might slow down the harvest in the northern portion of the western Midwest with from 0.25 to 1.00 inch likely and from 0.10 to 0.50 inch expected elsewhere.
Temperatures will be above normal this week ranging from 70-80s F (degrees Fahrenheit) but "it will turn a little cooler by the weekend," he said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) late Monday said 27% of the U.S corn crop had been harvested as of Sunday, up from 18% a week ago but below the 33% 5-year average harvest pace. 90% of the corn crop was mature, USDA said.
USDA said 37% of the soybean crop had been harvested, up from 17% last week and below the 39% harvest pace of a year ago. 89% of the crop was dropping leaves and ready for harvest, according to the USDA.
Meteorlogix's 6-10 day outlook for the U.S. Midwest from Sunday through Thursday calls for normal to below-normal temperatures. Rainfall will be below normal in the western Midwest and above normal in the eastern Midwest.
