Ag Weather Forum

The early start to the rainy season in central Brazil allowed for early planting of the soybean crop with expectations of an early harvest. However, it has remained quite wet through November with concerns about disease pressure and potential delays to the early harvest at the end of the month.

There are indications that conditions will not be as wet through the first half of December, but could turn wetter during the second half of the month. Drier weather in southern Brazil and central Argentina at this time favors corn and soybean planting, which had been disrupted by wet weather. Conditions are favorable for developing crops. Drier weather continues through the weekend. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to increase next week.

There is still a significant amount of soybeans left in the fields in the Ohio and Tennessee valleys. Cold and unsettled weather is expected to continue with the next chance of some significant precipitation over the weekend. Quality issues and some harvest losses are noted. The weather will be favorable for the remaining corn harvest in the Northern Plains and northwest Midwest with mostly below-normal precipitation.

The sea-surface temperature departure in the eastern equatorial Pacific for the month of November was +1.8 degrees Celsius. This is up from a +1.4 during October. It appears we will be experiencing a classic El Nino pattern during December with wet weather over the southern and eastern U.S. at times affecting the southern and eastern Midwest. The Northern Plains and northwest Midwest will tend to experience drier and milder weather.

Mike Palmerino can be reached at michael.palmerino@dtn.com

(CZ)

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