Ag Weather Forum

We have discussed repeatedly in commentary and articles about how the winter of 2012-13 has featured a sharp contrast in precipitation from east to west in the Corn Belt.

This difference in precipitation is well-defined in Iowa. The central and eastern half of the state had from 2.5 to 4 inches of precipitation during February, with the far southeast taking in almost 5 inches. In contrast, the western half of the state had much less--generally less than two inches.

The dividing line -- almost exactly Interstate 35 through central Iowa. East of I-35 it was wetter, and west of I-35 the moisture really tailed off. We have seen this many times before, and it showed up again this winter.

It's this kind of wet versus drier split that keeps us very uncertain at the present time regarding the USDA corn yield projection of almost 164 bushels an acre for the U.S. corn yield.

Bryce Anderson can be reached at bryce.anderson@telventdtn.com

Twitter--@BAndersonDTN

(CZ/SK)

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