Eastern Cornbelt:
Freeze warnings and winter storm warnings were in effect for northern areas of the Eastern Cornbelt during the week. Lows in the 20s were common at midweek across central Illinois and Indiana, while snow squalls were reported in northern Illinois and northern Ohio on Oct. 31.
Warmer weather was on tap as the week progressed, however, with highs expected to reach the upper-50s and low-60s in all three states on Nov. 3-4.
The previous week’s rainfall slowed harvest progress on corn and soybeans in the region. While Illinois remained ahead of its average pace with 81% of the corn in the bin by Oct. 29, Indiana’s progress was estimated at just 56% complete, with Ohio trailing at 29%. The soybean harvest was 89% complete in Illinois and 79-80% in Ohio and Indiana by that date.
“It has been a slow start to the corn harvest in our market area, with very high moisture content in our corn crop,” reported one Ohio source. “I truly believe that the Canadian smoke we had for several weeks this summer has affected the growing degree days we had this year on our crops.”
Western Cornbelt:
A frigid start to the week brought a hard freeze to parts of Iowa and Nebraska, with northwestern areas of Nebraska collecting the first accumulated snowfall of the season. Lows in the 20s were reported across Iowa at midweek, but temperatures were expected to return to the 50s and 60s by the weekend.
The fall harvest continued at a brisk pace in late October, with progress tracking ahead of the five-year average for all crops in the region. Missouri growers had 84% of the corn in the bin by Oct. 29, compared with 76-77% in Iowa and Nebraska. The regional soybean harvest was 99-93% complete in Nebraska and Iowa, ahead of Missouri’s 75%.
Missouri’s cotton harvest was 79% complete by Oct. 29, with Nebraska’s sorghum harvest rated at 69% complete by that date.
Southern Plains:
Cold weather settled over the Southern Plains during the week. In Kansas, midweek lows dropped to a record 18 degrees in Kansas City, with temperatures falling to 24 in Wichita.
Temperatures in Oklahoma City, Okla., fell from a high of 70 on Oct. 28 to a low of 23 on Nov. 1. Much of southern New Mexico and western Texas were under a freeze warning at midweek, with lows in Houston dropping to the 30s at midweek. Weekend temperatures were expected to warm back up to the 50s and 60s, however.
The corn harvest as of Oct. 29 was tracking ahead of the average pace at 93% complete in Texas, 89% in Kansas, and 68% in Colorado, while the soybean harvest had progressed to 80% complete in Kansas by that date. Growers were also picking cotton, with progress as of Oct. 29 estimated at 43% complete in Texas, 35% in Kansas, and 33% in Oklahoma.
The sorghum harvest was 100% complete in Texas, 60% in Oklahoma, 69% in Kansas, and 68% in Colorado by Oct. 29.
South Central:
Cold temperatures blanketed much of the South Central region during the week, with lows dropping to the 50s in New Orleans. A freeze warning was in effect for Middle Tennessee and Arkansas at midweek, but warmer weather was in the forecast, with highs expected in the 70s by the weekend.
Harvest activities in the region were winding down in late October. Growers had 85-92% of the corn in the bin in Kentucky and Tennessee by Oct. 29, while the soybean harvest had progressed to 62% in Kentucky, 73% in Tennessee, 91% in Arkansas, and 97-100% in Mississippi and Louisiana.
The cotton harvest was also well-advanced at 98% complete in Louisiana, 88% in Arkansas, 84% in Mississippi, and 62% in Tennessee.
Southeast:
The first freeze warnings of the season were in effect across parts of the Southeast during the week. Lows fell to the upper-20s at midweek in Richmond, Va., Haleyville, Ala., and parts of North Carolina, with highs struggling to reach the 50s. Warmer weather was expected to return by the weekend, however, with highs climbing to the 70s.
Frost warnings were also issued for parts of northern Georgia during the week, while colder weather blanketed much of northern and central Florida as well. Highs in central Florida reportedly topped out in the 60s and low-70s at midweek.
Growers were harvesting corn, soybeans, cotton, and peanuts in the Southeast in late October. North Carolina growers had 97% of the corn and 34% of the soybeans in the bin by Oct. 29, while the region’s cotton harvest had progressed to 53% complete in Alabama, 44% in Virginia, 36% in North Carolina, 32% in Georgia, and 24% in South Carolina.
The peanut harvest as of Oct. 29 was 88% complete in Virginia, 84% in Florida, 79% in Alabama, 68% in North Carolina, 67% in Georgia, and 63% in South Carolina.