Across the Corn Belt, cloudy but mild weather generally favors off-season agricultural activities, including farm maintenance. However, in part due to dry soils, Midwestern winter wheat conditions, as reported by USDA/NASS, have declined since late autumn. Over the last 5 weeks, for example, the portion of the wheat crop rated in good to excellent condition slipped from 72 to 55% in Illinois, and from 80 to 71% in Ohio.
On the Plains, mild, dry weather prevails in advance of an approaching storm system. End-of-December reporting from USDA/NASS notes improving winter wheat conditions since late-autumn across parts of the central and southern Plains. Between November 26 and the end of December, the portion of the wheat crop rated in good to excellent condition increased from 32 to 43% in Kansas and from 53 to 67% in Oklahoma.
In the South, showers along the Atlantic Coast are ending. Elsewhere, mild, dry weather prevails. At the end of December, USDA/NASS continued to report significant soil moisture shortages in areas experiencing drought. For example, topsoil moisture was rated 64% very short to short in Louisiana, along with 52% in Mississippi and 44% in Tennessee.
In the West, rain and snow showers are developing across portions of the Four Corners States. A separate area of precipitation is occurring in the Pacific Northwest. In agricultural areas that remain dry, fieldwork is proceeding. In Arizona, the cotton harvest was 99% complete by the end of December, while 25% of the barley had been planted.
