Grain Futures: As of 4 p.m. on Feb. 12, corn and wheat prices were lower compared to the previous week, while soybeans were mixed.
Corn for March 2015 was $3.83/bushel, down from $3.8525/bushel at last report. The May 2015 corn price fell to $3.91/bushel from the previous week’s $3.9325/bushel, while trading of December 2015 corn contracts slipped to $4.13/bushel from the prior week’s $4.16/bushel.
The March 2015 soybean price was $9.8375/bushel, up from $9.8125/bushel the week before, while soybeans for May 2015 fell to $9.8675/bushel from the previous week’s $9.8775/bushel. Soybeans for November 2015 were posted at $9.6425/bushel, down slightly from the prior week’s $9.6475/bushel.
Wheat for March 2015 was $5.2125/bushel, down from the prior week’s $5.2575/bushel. May 2015 wheat was down as well, at $5.1975/bushel from $5.2725/bushel, while July 2015 wheat contracts traded at $5.225/bushel, down from $5.285/bushel at last report.
Eastern Cornbelt: Bitterly cold weather was expected in northern areas of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio as the week advanced, along with heavy snowfall in some locations.
Temperatures in Chicago fell to the single digits on Feb. 12, with subzero wind chills reported across northern Illinois. Wind chills in northwestern Indiana also dropped below zero on Feb. 11-12, with 4-8 inches of lake effect snow in some areas.
The coldest weather was reported in northern Ohio on Feb. 12-13, with wind chills falling to minus 10-20 in some areas. Lows down to minus 30 were expected on Feb. 14 in parts of northern Ohio, along with 2-4 inches of snow.
Western Cornbelt: Cold, snowy weather remained the norm for much of Iowa, eastern Nebraska, and northern Missouri last week. Another winter weather advisory was issued for northern Iowa on Feb. 10, with freezing temperatures and wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain reported across multiple counties.
California: February got off to a wet start for Northern California, but a significant winter rainfall deficit persisted for all of the state after a very dry January. Industry sources were concerned that more curtailments of irrigation water will be imposed in 2015 as a result.
Local reports said more than 10 inches fell in Mount Shasta and 4.2 inches in Santa Rosa during the first week of February. The moisture was long overdue, with some parts of Northern California setting a record for no measurable precipitation during January, which is typically the wettest month in California.
While certainly helpful, the February moisture did little to alleviate drought conditions that have worsened since the state’s wet December. As of Feb. 6, the snowpack in the central and southern Sierra Nevada range was only 21-22 percent of normal, while the northern Sierra stood at only 19 percent of normal for that date. As of the first of the year, every major reservoir in California was running below 50 percent of capacity.
Pacific Northwest: Unseasonably warm weather settled over much of the Pacific Northwest in early February, sending temperatures into the 50s and 60s in parts of Idaho and Montana. The mild weather was accompanied by rainfall in some locations, but winter precipitation for the region remained well below normal overall.
USDA’s National Water and Climate Center reported last week that the snow water content of the snowpack in the Oregon Cascades was less than 20 percent of average as of Feb. 9, while snow water levels in Washington’s Cascade range varied from just 18 percent to 56 percent of average. Washington would have to be well over 200 percent of average between now and April 1 to catch up on the snowpack shortfall.
Mountain snowpack in Idaho ranged from