Ag Weather Forum

I received an e-mail comment on this January-like cold weather pattern from an Upper MIdwest producer that was like a dash of--illustration intended--cold water. It went like this:

"Combines filled with snow and ice. Trucks (and) grain cart tractors gelled."

Of course! It's one thing to have cold air--but THIS kind of cold hitting harvest fields? With probably most fuel mixtures not in winter mode--and machinery not expected to have to be worked with in a snowstorm environment. Those sentences put a new slant on the weather situation for the final 11 percent of the U.S. corn crop to be harvested and the last 6 percent of soybeans. After all--Wisconsin has 7 percent of its soybeans and 36 percent of its corn still to be harvested and Michigan has 8 percent of its soybeans 41 percent of its corn left in the field. Other parts of the eastern Corn Belt have a ways to go also with Indiana still with 16 percent of its corn left to harvest; Ohio 19 percent. North Dakota has 15 percent left. Colorado 16 percent. And Pennsylvania has 21 percent still to go.

The slant that my source's e-mail reminded me of is this--that this bitter cold needs to be looked at in relation to harvest in more than just a field or crop perspective. Cold weather firms up the ground, which allows for machinery to roll along better. We're all familiar with that line. But if it's so cold that a combine--or a truck--or a tractor--won't start--well, there's not much progress on that frozen ground after all.

So, this last stage of harvest will be a bit of an adventure. Will the market care? It's doubtful considering the size of the total harvest. But there may be some local basis moves depending on how things go. At the very least, there will be several million bushels that don't cause a storage problem for at least a short while.

Bryce

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