Eastern Cornbelt:
Heavy rain moved through parts of northern Illinois on Sept. 17, but dry weather dominated the Eastern Cornbelt for the remainder of the week, creating ideal harvest conditions with temperatures reaching the upper-70s and 80s.
The Illinois corn harvest was 6% complete by Sept. 17, compared with 1-2% in Michigan and Indiana, while the soybean harvest was just 1% complete in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan by that date. Good or excellent ratings were assigned to 54-55% of the corn and soybeans in Illinois and Michigan, 64% in Indiana, and 71-76% in Ohio.
Western Cornbelt:
Central and southwestern Iowa were hit with heavy rain on Sept. 19, with parts of Audubon County registering 6-10 inches of precipitation. Other rainfall totals included 3-4 inches in Ogden and 1-2 inches in Des Moines and Ankeny. Northern Iowa and the Iowa-Missouri border reportedly got little rain from the powerful system.
Nebraska was also bracing for potentially strong storms on Sept. 21-22, with forecasts warning of damaging wind, hail, and locally heavy showers. Rain chances across Missouri were low during the week, with highs reaching the mid-80s by the weekend.
Missouri’s corn harvest was 19% complete by Sept. 17, compared with 5-7% in Iowa and Nebraska, while the soybean harvest had progressed to 3-4% complete in Iowa and Nebraska. Some 47-50% of the corn and beans in Iowa and Nebraska were rated as good or excellent, ahead of Missouri’s 33-43%.
Nebraska growers also had 2% of the sorghum harvested by Sept. 17, with 61% of the acreage rated as good or excellent. Missouri’s rice crop was 27% harvested by that date.
Southern Plains:
Mostly dry weather was reported across central and western Kansas during the week, but scattered thunderstorms were possible on Sept. 21, with highs climbing to the 80s.
Severe storms pushed across the Oklahoma City, Okla., area at midweek, with reports of heavy rain and large hail. Strong storms also brought heavy rain, large hail, and damaging winds to parts of western and northern Texas on Sept. 21.
The regional corn harvest had progressed to 68% complete in Texas and 27% in Kansas by Sept. 17, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 49% of the acreage in Texas, 32% in Kansas, and 54% in Colorado. The Kansas soybean crop was 4% harvested with 23% rated as good or excellent, while the cotton harvest was rated at 20% complete in Texas, with good or excellent ratings assigned to just 10-11% of the acreage in Texas and Oklahoma, compared with 35% in Kansas.
The regional sorghum harvest was also off to a strong start, with 7% of the crop harvested in Kansas and Oklahoma by Sept. 17, compared with 75% in Texas. Fully 83% of Colorado’s sorghum was rated as good or excellent, compared with 45-50% in Texas and Oklahoma and 32% in Kansas.
South Central:
Scattered showers and thunderstorms were popping up in parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky on Sept. 21, though dry conditions dominated for the week. Highs continued to reach the low-80s, with lows dropping to the 50s.
Drought intensified across Louisiana and Mississippi, with extreme-to-exceptional drought covering nearly all of Louisiana and the southern half of Mississippi in mid-September.
The corn harvest was 20-26% complete in Kentucky and Tennessee by Sept. 18, with 72-76% of the acreage rated as good or excellent. The soybean harvest was 66% complete in Louisiana, 42% in Mississippi, 15% in Arkansas, 11% in Tennessee, and 6% in Kentucky by that date, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 75-78% of the acreage in Arkansas and Tennessee, 65-70% in Mississippi and Kentucky, and 42% in Louisiana.
The region’s rice harvest was well advanced at 90-93% complete in Texas and Louisiana, 74% in Mississippi, and 58% in Arkansas. The cotton harvest was 15% complete in Louisiana by Sept. 18, compared with just 1-3% in the rest of the region, with good or excellent rating assigned to 72% of the crop in Tennessee, 65% in Arkansas, and 52-56% in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Southeast:
A tropical storm forming off the Southeast coast brought showers to eastern Florida late in the week, with potentially heavy rain, strong wind gusts, and coastal flooding expected in the Carolinas, Virginia, and Mid-Atlantic region over the weekend.
Growers were harvesting corn, soybeans, cotton, and peanuts in the Southeast in mid-September. North Carolina growers had 65% of the corn and 1% of the soybeans in the bin by Sept. 18, with 68% of the corn and 56% of the soybeans rated as good or excellent.
The cotton harvest was just 1% complete in Alabama and Virginia by that date, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 43% of the acreage in North Carolina, 56-57% in Georgia and South Carolina, 63% in Alabama, and 89% in Virginia.
The peanut harvest was 14% complete in Florida, 7% in Alabama, 4% in South Carolina, and 2-3% in Georgia and Virginia, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 40% of the crop in Alabama, 45% in Florida, 56-57% in Georgia and North Carolina, 85% in South Carolina, and 87% in Virginia.