A few showers on the northern High Plains; dry weather across the rest of the Heartland

Across the Corn Belt, dry weather across the northern Corn Belt favors fieldwork, except in areas of the upper Midwest that received inundating rainfall last week.  During the week ending May 14, more than one-half of the sugarbeet acreage was seeded in North Dakota (an increase from 1 to 60% planted) and Minnesota (from 23 to 75%). 

On the Plains, dry weather prevails in the wake of recent heavy rainfall.  Although soil moisture improvements are benefiting rangeland, pastures, and emerging summer crops, the rain arrived too late for some winter wheat, which on May 14 was rated more than one-half very poor to poor in Kansas (68%), Texas (52%), and Oklahoma (51%). 

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