Plains and western Corn Belt should get crops off to a good start. Delaying the onset of dry and warm weather in the Corn Belt and central Plains will help crops get off to a good start and when the drier and warmer days finally do arrive, root systems may develop downward in the ground enough to support crop development when the ridge of high pressure becomes more dominating. That assumes moisture will be present down deep into the ground. Recent soil assessments suggest deep moisture is not that prevalent and it might take a while for repetitive rain events to get the ground wet enough for the moisture feedback scenario noted above to kick in and protect crops in the early days of summer. Regardless of May and early June rainfall, the most challenging months for crop development this year likely will be July and August, and it will be mostly in the western Corn and Soybean Belt while the eastern Midwest does a little better. The northern Plains and Canada's Prairies likely will see greater rainfall with the wet bias in the east in May shifting westward in June and July. Weather patterns thus far Many of the post multi-year La Niña events in this solar cycle have produced lighter-than-usual precipitation in the lower Midwest and that has verified well so far this spring. The same can be said for years moving from a multi-year La Niña into an El Niño. Another parallel with northern California heavy rain in December and January predicted a lighter precipitation bias in the lower Midwest as well. If these parallels continue, including that of PDO, confidence is high about where we are going in this growing season. Drew Lerner is senior agricultural meteorologist with World Weather, Inc. He may be reached at worldweather@bizkc.rr.com. World Weather, Inc. forecasts and comments pertaining to present, past and future weather conditions included in this report constitute the corporation's judgment as of the date of this report and are subject to change without notice. We want to hear from you - Send comments and inquiries to worldgrain@sosland.com. For reprints of WG articles, email reprints@sosland.com. World-Grain.com / World Grain / May 2023 47http://www.bbca.com.tr http://www.World-Grain.com