Drought Reality Check: Areas of Corn Belt On Pace for Driest June Ever

A weather rally in the grain market has fueled commodity prices the past two weeks, but a slight change in the forecast for the weekend sent prices lower both Thursday and Friday. The weekend forecasts look more optimistic for the northern Corn Belt, but USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey points out the central Corn Belt is still waiting on measurable rains after a historically dry June.

Rippey says the weather outlook for the weekend into early next week is a touch more optimistic in some northern corn and soybean production areas, mainly from the Dakotas to Michigan.

“The good news is that the block that has been persistent over the Midwest for a while now, really back all the way into May, has temporarily shifted just enough that it's going to let a cold front and a storm system work its way through the Midwest starting over the weekend into next week,” says Rippey. “And so there is a little bit of promise for some rainfall. We've already seen some showers and thunderstorms working their way into the Dakotas into northern Minnesota. And that trend will continue through the weekend.”

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