Eastern Cornbelt:
The week started with temperatures in the 70s and sunny skies, creating ideal harvest conditions in all three states. Colder weather moved in as the week advanced, however, prompting a freeze warning for most of northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana on Oct. 14. Lows were expected to fall to the upper-20s and low-30s.
The corn harvest had progressed to 27% complete in Illinois and Indiana by Oct. 9, compared with 15% in Ohio, while the regional soybean harvest was estimated at 30-36% complete by that date. Good or excellent ratings were assigned to 70-72% of the corn and soybeans in Illinois, 65% in Ohio, and 58-59% in Indiana.
Winter wheat planting was also underway in the region, with progress estimated at 37% complete in Ohio, 27% in Indiana, and 16% in Illinois.
Western Cornbelt:
Strong winds, low humidity, and worsening drought conditions raised fire dangers across Nebraska and western Iowa during the week, prompting red flag fire warnings in both states.
Wind gusts up to 40-50 mph were reported in Nebraska on Oct. 12-13, with a cold front dropping temperatures from the 70s and 80s at midweek down to the 60s by the weekend. While scattered showers were reported in southwestern Missouri early in the week, windy conditions resulted in red flag fire warnings for some portions of the state later in the week.
Corn harvesting had progressed to 53% complete in Missouri by Oct. 9, compared with 34% in Nebraska and 23% in Iowa. The soybean harvest was 54-55% complete in Iowa and Nebraska by that date, ahead of Missouri’s 22%. USDA placed 62-63% of Iowa’s corn and soybeans in the good or excellent categories, compared with 49-50% in Missouri and 39-40% in Nebraska.
Missouri’s rice was 78% harvested by Oct. 9, along with 14% of the state’s cotton crop, with 60% of the cotton rated as good or excellent. With 16% of the sorghum crop harvested in Nebraska, fully 62% of the acreage was rated as poor or very poor due to severe-to-exceptional drought conditions across most of the state.
Southern Plains:
Some needed moisture was reported in parts of eastern Kansas as a cold front produced scattered showers at midweek. Much of the Southern Plains remained extremely dry, however, causing drought conditions to expand across central and northern Texas, most of Oklahoma, and a wide swath of western and southern Kansas in early October.
“The Southern Plains is dry, dry, and dry!” commented one source at midweek. Nearly all of Oklahoma is now experiencing extreme-to-exceptional drought, as are the southern and western halves of Kansas.
The impact of drought conditions was plainly evident in USDA’s latest crop report. With the corn harvest now at 85% complete in Texas, 61% in Kansas, and 19% in Colorado, good or excellent ratings were assigned to just 17% of the acreage in Texas, 22% in Kansas, and 30% in Colorado. Corn in the poor or very poor categories totaled 52-54% of the acreage in Texas and Kansas, along with 31% in Colorado.
The Kansas soybean crop was 30% harvested, with 25% rated as good or excellent and 46% as poor or very poor. The sorghum crop was 95% harvested in Texas, compared with 25-30% in the rest of the region, with good or excellent ratings assigned to just 10% of Oklahoma’s crop, 17% in Texas, 21% in Kansas, and 42% in Colorado. Sorghum rated as poor or very poor totaled 61% of the acreage in Oklahoma, 54% in Kansas, 42% in Texas, and 19% in Colorado.
Cotton conditions were even worse in the region. With the harvest reported at 35% complete in Texas, 16% in Kansas, and just 1% in Oklahoma, poor or very poor ratings were assigned to fully 72% of the acreage in Texas, compared with 58% in Kansas and 48% in Oklahoma.
Winter wheat planting was 85% complete in Colorado, 58% in Texas, 50% in Kansas, and 38% in Oklahoma by Oct. 9, with progress delayed by dry conditions. “This wheat is being planted in some very poor conditions,” commented one regional source. “Some will come up, some won’t. Without moisture to help it, there will be a very poor demand for nitrogen on wheat.”
South Central:
Severe thunderstorms brought rain and damaging winds to parts of Middle Tennessee at midweek, prompting several tornado warnings and causing widespread power outages from downed trees. Strong thunderstorms were also reported in central and eastern Kentucky.
Spotty rain and severe weather moved through Arkansas at midweek as well. Frost was possible in parts of northern Arkansas by the weekend.
Moisture left over from Hurricane Julia brought rainfall to southern Louisiana and southern Mississippi during the week. Forecasts warned of damaging winds and large hail in parts of Mississippi at midweek.
The corn harvest was 67% complete in Kentucky and 82% in Tennessee by Oct. 9, with 27-37% of the acreage rated as good or excellent. The cotton crop was 75% harvested in Louisiana, 54% in Mississippi, 34% in Arkansas, and 13% in Tennessee, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 33% of the acreage in Louisiana, 46% in Tennessee, and 67-73% in Mississippi and Arkansas.
Soybean growers had 87% of the crop harvested in Louisiana, 63% in Mississippi, 47% in Arkansas, 32% in Tennessee, and 31% in Kentucky, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 68% of the acreage in Mississippi, 59% in Arkansas, 56% in Kentucky, 47% in Tennessee, and just 20% in Louisiana. The rice harvest was 86-99% complete in the South Central region by Oct. 9.
Southeast:
Weather conditions in Alabama and Georgia were mostly mild and dry through the first half of the week, but a line of strong thunderstorms brought rain and gusty winds to parts of both states at midweek.
Cooler weather also moved into North Carolina as the week progressed, with an increased chance of rain on Oct. 13-14. Showers and thunderstorms moved through central Florida as well. The state continues to assess the significant damage caused by Hurricane Ian. The deadly storm also brought heavy rainfall to the Carolinas and parts of Virginia in late September.
Growers were harvesting corn, soybeans, cotton, tobacco, and peanuts in the Southeast. With 88% of the corn crop in the bin in North Carolina, just 29% of the acreage fell in the good or excellent categories on Oct. 9, with 46% rated as poor or very poor. The state’s soybean harvest was 23% complete, with 64% of the crop rated as good or excellent.
The cotton harvest was 17-24% complete in the region, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 59% of the acreage in Georgia, 60% in South Carolina, 63% in North Carolina, 71% in Alabama, and 78% in Virginia.
The peanut harvest was 58-61% complete in Virginia and Florida, 43-47% in Alabama and Georgia, and 28-34% in the Carolinas by Oct. 9. Fully 91% of Alabama’s peanut crop was rated as good or excellent, compared with 80-82% in Virginia and South Carolina, 70% in North Carolina, 61% in Georgia, and 57% in Florida.