Crop Insurance Today June 2018 - 7

Figure 4 Record Drought Mitigation from Spring Moisture, 2017
U.S. Drought Monitor

CONUS

precipitation from the southern Appalachians to
southern New England, and pockets of the Central and Southern Plains into the middle Mississippi Valley created or continued persistent
drought conditions in those areas.
Spring 2017: The spring saw widespread
moisture across the United States. Few areas of
the country did not receive above average levels
of precipitation (Figure 3). Exceptions included
the Northern Plains and lower Southeast. In some
areas, too much rain resulted in lowland flooding
and caused planting delays, especially the MidSouth and lower Midwest. In perhaps a glimpse
of what was to come, the spring also included
several extreme weather events. Early in March,
wildfires plagued the Central and Southern
Plains, while a blizzard hit the Northeast pushing
freezing temperatures into the Southeast. These
events were followed by a late season snow in the
Central and Southern High Plains that caused
damage to winter wheat and significant loss of
livestock. Out West, a good year of snow accumulations resulted in much needed moisture as
warm weather stimulated the annual snowmelt.
In some areas excessive snowmelt, following a
wet winter, resulted in flooding and contributed
to delays in planting and crop development.
The wet spring and winter brought drought
levels to record lows across the U.S. By the end of
May, drought covered just 4.5 percent of the U.S.,
down from 16 percent in March (Figure 4). The
drought coverage in May was the lowest recorded
in the country during the modern Drought Monitor era, which began in 1999. While the moisture
brought much comfort to most of the country, it
did not bring relief to the drought conditions in
the Northern Plains.

U.S. Drought Monitor

March 28, 2017

(Released Thursday, Mar. 30, 2017)
Valid 8 a.m. EDT

CONUS

Crop Planting Progress
and Crop Conditions

Planting season began with temperatures
generally above normal for most of the U.S. The
exception was continued cold weather in the
Northwest. In addition, there was above average rainfall in most areas, and some excessive
moisture in parts of the lower Mississippi Valley and Washington. Temperatures were above
normal across most of the United States during
the month of April. Plantings of major crops
proceeded in line with their five-year average ex-

May 23, 2017

(Released Thursday, May 25, 2017)
Valid 8 a.m. EDT

cept for spring wheat, which lagged due to excess
moisture early in the planting season (Figure 5).
The generally favorable weather allowed for 3
percent of the corn crop to be planted by April
9, slightly behind the previous year but equal to
the five-year average. By April 30, 34 percent of
the 2017 corn crop was in the ground, about the
same as the five-year average.
Cotton producers got off to a slow start in
Texas, the largest cotton producing area and by
April 30 all cotton plantings were only about
14 percent, lagging the five-year average by
3 percent.

Figure 5 Planting Progress: 2017 Acres Planted as a Percent
of Previous 5 Year Average

As of Week in 2017 (4/2 to 6/25)
Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Crop Progress Report
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Quick_Stats/Lite

CROPINSURANCE TODAY®

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Quick_Stats/Lite

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today June 2018