Dry weather boosts soybean and corn crop harvest activities across the US

Dry weather covered large sections of the Plains and upper Midwest in the US, allowing autumn fieldwork including harvest activities and winter wheat planting to near completion in many areas. US corn and soybeans were 81% and 91% harvested, respectively, versus the 5-year average of 77% and 86% by Nov. 5, according to USDA weekly weather and crop bulletin Nov. 7. Nationwide, producers had sown 90% of the intended 2024 winter wheat acreage by Nov. 5, one percentage point behind last year but 1 point ahead of the 5-year average. In the Mississippi River at Memphis, Tennessee, a gauge reading of minus 5.24 feet was recorded on Nov. 8, while at Vicksburg, it rose to 4.49 feet. Rains in October helped the Mississippi River levels rise from the earlier record-low dips in the same month, easing concerns for grains exports. In the corn belt, breezy weather will prevail in the wake of a departing low-pressure system. High temperatures are expected to exceed 70F in parts of the southern ...