BOTTOM LINE WEATHER POINTS
– Feed grain usage will soar as a deep freeze settles into the Midwest.
– Ongoing drought is taxing fruit and vegetable crops across California.
– Wheat crop in Washington state is still suffering from October drought.
– Feed grain usage will soar as a deep freeze settles into the Midwest.
– Ongoing drought is taxing fruit and vegetable crops across California.
– Wheat crop in Washington state is still suffering from October drought.
A deep freeze will settle into the Midwest this weekend, driving temperatures 10 to 15 degrees below normal across the heart of the Midwest. Cold and snowy weather is boosting feed grain usage in the Northern Plains and Midwest, where grazing is no longer possible. Shivering animals burn extra calories and thus need to consume more feed in order to gain weight. This is adding to a long laundry list of rising costs that have been plaguing Midwestern farmers all season long.
Another extreme weather pattern challenging domestic growers is in California, where an ongoing drought shows no evidence of breaking up. November marks the beginning of the rainy season in California’s central valley, but rainfall levels were only 39% of their normal averages last month.
This marks the 13th driest period in the last 59 years. The region endured record warm temperatures from September-November, which further increased moisture stress on vegetable, strawberry and citrus farms. Many farmers were forced into the costly practice of irrigation. California can ill afford a dry winter, because reservoirs are already seriously depleted.
Conditions are improving slightly in the Pacific Northwest, where Washington wheat received some much-needed rainfall in November, but crop development is still stunted after a very dry October. Warming weather has been beneficial to the area, allowing wheat to make up for lost development time. Improving field moisture should help get the crop back on track.
Wheat still posted a mediocre rating on the November 22nd crop report, coming in at 23% good-excellent and 33% poor. Washington grows 8% of the US winter wheat crop and exports wheat to Asian customers in the Pacific Rim.
