Lack of rain pressures corn and soybeans in the South

According to data released in the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, published this Tuesday (10) by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), rains were widespread across much of Brazil, but remained scarce in agricultural areas of the Northeast and South. The USDA bulletin points out that these regions received little or no precipitation, below 10 millimeters, in contrast to other areas of the country, where volumes varied from 10 to 100 millimeters. According to the USDA, temperatures were, on average, up to 3°C above normal, with daytime highs between 30°C and 35°C. In the South and Northeast, where the weather was drier, the absence of significant rainfall favored the intensification of heat, raising temperatures close to 40°C and increasing evapotranspiration rates in the Southern crops. According to reports from government agencies cited in the USDA bulletin, on February 3, in Paraná, the first corn crop was near maturation, with harvests above historical averages. ...