Temperatures during the week ended Tuesday generally were cooler than normal west of the Continental Divide, while warmer than normal temperatures were common in the Upper Midwest and Northeast, according to the US Drought Monitor from the National Drought Mitigation Center Thursday.
Heavy rain fell across widespread sections of the eastern US, in many locations from the influences of tropical storms Fred and Henri and their remnants. The widespread rainfall led to condition improvements in areas suffering from abnormal dryness or moderate drought.
However, it led to a flash flood event with many fatalities in Tennessee. Parts of the Midwest, High Plains and West regions received beneficial rainfall, which led to improvement in drought conditions in some locales.
Many locations across the central US that missed out on heavier rains this week saw drought conditions degrade.
MIDWEST
Weather conditions varied widely across the Midwest in the latest week. The region saw warmer than normal temperatures, with the warmest temperature departures (from 6 to 10 degrees above normal) taking place in Michigan and Minnesota.
Rain fell across roughly the southwestern half of Missouri, Iowa (north of Interstate 80), the western two-thirds of Minnesota, far southeast Ohio and Kentucky as well as a few other isolated spots in southern Illinois.
Elsewhere, the weather was largely dry. Very dry weather over the last month and associated effects to soil moisture, led to the formation of short-term moderate drought in central Indiana.
Recent dry conditions also led to expansion of moderate drought in northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Recent heavy rain allowed for some improvements in drought areas in Iowa and Minnesota (where the heaviest amounts occurred to alleviate very short-term dryness), but longer-term deficits and effects to the hydrologic system remain across the greater part of the two states.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota closed recently because of a nearby wildfire. The ongoing drought also has adversely affected bee populations and honey production.
Low streamflow in Minnesota rivers remained a problem this week. In some areas of northeast and southwest Minnesota that didn’t see much or any rain this week, extreme drought widened its footprint.
Drought continued to plague much of the West. Heavy rains in parts of Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Utah combined with temperatures ranging from 4 to 8 degrees below normal to stave off any expansion or worsening of drought areas.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $121.51 to $127.50 per cwt, compared with last week’s weekly range of $124.26 to $125.75. FOB dressed steers and heifers went for $190.85 to $197.23 per cwt, versus last week’s $197.57 to $203.18.
The USDA choice cutout Thursday was up $0.38 per cwt at $347.27, while select was up $3.90 at $319.59. The choice/select spread narrowed to $27.68 from $31.20 with 55 loads of fabricated product and 22 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA reported Thursday that basis bids for corn from livestock feeding operations in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.60 to $2.00 a bushel over the Sep futures and for southwest Kansas were unchanged at $0.40 over Sep, which settled at $5.52 3/4 a bushel, up $0.01 1/2.
Nineteen heifer and 14 steer contracts were retendered for delivery against the Aug live cattle at one. Forty heifer contracts were retendered at two, and thirty heifer contracts were reclaimed at two.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Wednesday was $158.79 per cwt up $0.72. This compares with Thursday’s Aug contract settlement of $159.45 per cwt, up $0.15 and Sep’s $164.45, down $0.70.