Reuters / U.S. corn and soybeans are baking as a scorching dome of heat hovers over the centre of the country, with little relief in sight until the July 1 weekend at the earliest, agricultural meteorologists said June 25.
The heat and persistent dryness has become a huge worry for farmers and the grain trade as the U.S. corn crop is beginning to pollinate — the key growth phase that determines yields.
Corn is now pollinating in parts of the Mississippi Delta region and the southern Midwest and this trend will move north through mid-July. Iowa and Illinois alone produce a third of corn and soybeans in the U.S., the world’s top grower and exporter.
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Grain markets on the Chicago Board of Trade remained on fire June 25 on the weather fears.
Currently, a high-pressure ridge is hovering over the Rockies and is expected to push east across the Midwest and Delta later this week through next week, forecasters said. This should bring the hottest days of the season to the Midwest.
“Conditions are going to continue to deteriorate over the next 10 days,” said Don Keeney, senior agricultural meteorologist with Cropcast, a widely watched advisory service. “Yields will go down as well.”
