As of March 1, the northern third of the province, as well as the southwest corner and south-central region of Saskatchewan, were projected to have well below-normal runoff.

A major snowstorm which brought up to 45 centimetres in central and southern regions of the province on March 2 and 3 helped to slightly improve conditions. Areas surrounding Saskatoon and west of the city, as well as locations in the southeast along the Manitoba border, will see near normal runoff. However, as of March 4, the province’s snowpack remains below-normal to well below-normal.

“Although the recent snowfall will help our situation and our producers this spring, we as a government will still be prepared to help those areas with dry conditions,” Minister Responsible for Water Security Agency David Marit said. “More moisture will be needed as temperatures continue to stay above zero. WSA will still be taking as many proactive measures as possible to prepare for changing conditions.”

However, dry conditions persist in southern parts of Saskatchewan. Localized water supply shortages are possible in the south-central this spring and the WSA has enacted conservative operating plans at most major reservoirs since last winter.

Despite the dry conditions, most reservoirs in the southern half of the province are at or above normal water levels. However, the report cited the Avonlea, Altawan and Cypress Reservoirs as those which could see lower levels due to the small snowpack.

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With the exception of the northeast corner of Manitoba, the entire Prairie region was considered to be abnormally dry (D0) or worse, including the whole agricultural landscape. All three provinces in the Prairies had areas of extreme drought (D3), while parts of southeastern Alberta were under exceptional drought (D4). By comparison, only 60 per cent of the Prairies and 78 per cent of agricultural areas were abnormally dry at the same time last year, with no areas under D3 or D4.

Only the Peace River region in Alberta and parts of southern Manitoba received less-than-normal amounts of precipitation. However, long-term precipitation deficits, poor water supplies and a small snowpack hindered relief. Normal amounts of precipitation in February for most areas in the Prairies range from 10 to 20 millimetres.

Severe (D2) and extreme drought expanded in Alberta over the past month, especially in northern and central areas. However, there was a small improvement to drought conditions in southern Alberta. Currently, 51 river basins covering more than half of the province’s agricultural land are experiencing critical water shortages. The Oldman and St. Mary’s Reservoirs are at less than half of normal levels at this time of year, while municipalities in the southwest have trucked in water because of low levels.

Saskatchewan received below-normal precipitation in northern parts of the province, but also had above-normal levels in remaining areas. However, above-normal temperatures and exposed soils losing moisture through evaporation and freeze-drying will ensure dry conditions in the short-term. The South Saskatchewan River, which feeds into Lake Diefenbaker, is at its second-lowest level in 23 years. Lake Diefenbaker, currently at water levels two metres below normal, provides water to nearly 70 per cent of the province’s population.

Much of southern Manitoba only received 40 per cent of normal precipitation in February and most of the province experienced mean temperatures up to four degrees Celsius above normal. Areas under D2 in southwest and south-central Manitoba expanded while a small area was downgraded to D3. Precipitation from last fall helped alleviate some dryness, but a small snowpack this winter may worsen conditions.

In Canada, 71 per cent of the country was abnormally dry or worse, including 85 per cent of agricultural areas.

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Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, also made the fires as much as 50 per cent more intense, according to the analysis by World Weather Attribution group, a global team of scientists that examines the role played by climate change in extreme weather.

“Climate change is greatly increasing the flammability of the fuel available for wildfires — this means that a single spark, regardless of its source, can rapidly turn into a blazing inferno,” said Yan Boulanger, a research scientist at Natural Resources Canada.

Rising global temperatures can yield more heatwaves, exacerbate drought and alter snow and rainfall patterns. This can dry out fuels, from grasses to trees, making them more likely to ignite and burn faster.

In many parts of Canada, snowfall acts as a limiting force for the start and spread of fires.

“This year, high temperatures led to the rapid thawing and disappearance of snow during May, particularly in eastern Quebec, resulting in unusually early wildfires,” said environmental scientist Philippe Gachon of the University of Quebec in Montreal.

Scientists reviewed weather data, including temperature, windspeed, humidity and precipitation, and used computer models to assess how climate change had altered fire weather this year, comparing it to preindustrial climate.

The Quebec fires are just one sliver of what has been the country’s worst wildfire season on record.

More than 14 million hectares so far have burned this year, amounting to roughly four per cent of Canada’s entire forest area, and more than six times the four-decade average of 2.3 million hectares, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

Wildfires continue to threaten the province of British Columbia, which on Friday declared a state of emergency as the federal government said it would send in the military to help tackle out-of-control fires.

Last week, most residents evacuated the city of Yellowknife, N.W.T. as fires crept closer to the territory’s capital.

— Gloria Dickie is a Reuters climate and environment correspondent in London, England.

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The east has enough moisture — and in some cases too much. And it gets progressively drier toward the west, with portions of Alberta nearing critical condition, according to one weather watcher.

Bruce Burnett, weather and markets director for the MarketsFarm division of Glacier FarmMedia, said the soil moisture picture is better than in past years, but still concerning in some regions.

“We are a little bit better than we were last year for moisture, especially topsoil moisture, because of the way some of the winter precipitation patterns have been,” he said. “But realistically the subsoil moisture remains very short and some key growing areas, especially western parts of Saskatchewan and southern Alberta.

“That’s specifically the area I’m most concerned about,” he added.

Burnett added the Prairie winter was a relatively mild one, especially in the western half, with the coolest temperatures also seen in the east of the region.

“We didn’t have a brutal winter in terms of temperatures,” he said.

Alberta dry

Laura Richard, an agroclimate analyst with AAFC, says a long, cold winter has made soil moisture detection in Alberta difficult, thanks to extended snow cover.

Going by winter precipitation, however, southern Alberta is looking strong while the rest of the province — particularly the central, northeast and Peace regions — is going to need a spring recharge as it continues to bounce back from the 2021-22 drought.

“Generally speaking, regions south of Calgary have gotten between 60 and 115 per cent of average precipitation so those are our areas of real recovery,” she said. “The southern areas also received good fall moisture going into winter.

“Unfortunately there’s a big swath between Edmonton and Calgary as well as the northeast where they’ve only received 40 to 60 per cent of normal precipitation. That’s not dire, but given the dry conditions these areas went into winter with there’s still some concern over the soil moisture.”

The same goes for parts of the Peace, Richard said.

“Southern portions of the Peace got more precipitation but the central and northern parts were definitely in that less than 60 per cent of normal precipitation.”

If there’s any comfort for producers in drier areas, it’s the fact that spring rains are what Alberta farmers generally count on even in the best of years.

“We know for sure that it’s the rains in June and July that really determine the quality of the crops and that’s how Alberta actually gets the majority of its moisture,” Richard said.

Snowpack generally looks good in dry areas around Edmonton and the Peace. However, it can be hard to count on until it’s melted.

“Just because snow falls in one location doesn’t mean that’s where it’s going to melt and percolate through the soils,” she said.

“It depends on how quickly it melts, how much rain we get and what our temperatures are like — all of that can really affect where that moisture actually gets into the soil. So until we have that snowmelt it’s really hard to predict where the areas of greatest concern are going to wind up being.”

Saskatchewan variable

In Saskatchewan the soil moisture situation seems to be reasonable in most of the eastern part of the province, except for the extreme southeast corner, but getting drier to the west.

Matt Struthers is a crop extension specialist with the Moose Jaw office of Saskatchewan Agriculture and is editor of the province’s weekly crop report. He said south and west of his location, the moisture picture gets “a little spotty,” with areas of adequate snowfall this winter interspersed with areas that didn’t see much accumulated snowfall.

“As you move into the southwest — around Swift Current, Shaunavon and Consul — it’s a bit drier this spring, and they’re likely to need some timely spring rains,” he said.

Speaking with Glacier FarmMedia on April 11, he noted the slower start to the spring might be a positive, provided it didn’t get too late for seeding to be accomplished in a timely manner.

“Being that it’s a bit later, that may help conserve that moisture and aid germination once we get that seed into the ground,” he said. “But of course, people — including me — might be a little anxious about how long we might be delayed.”

Farming in the region is a question of managing around the variability of its climate, he said, and noted that in just the past couple season the province’s farmers have coped with significant variability. Spring 2021 was very dry. Spring of 2022 was really wet in the eastern half of the province. And this year is a late spring.

“Historically, we’ve been here before, we’ll be here again, I don’t really start to worry until July rolls around and another heat dome sets up,” he said.

Some good news accompanying the slow spring is flying under the radar, he noted — namely, that cooler weather and moist conditions are likely taking a bit out of the grasshopper population as larvae and nymphs succumb to the conditions.

“Last year this area had a big problem,” he said. “We had a dry spring, it warmed up quickly, and the grasshopper population thrived.”

The cooler weather might delay seeding, but it’s also delaying the pests, he noted — a case of Mother Nature both giving and taking away.

“I’m hoping for a lot of give this year,” he said with a chuckle.

Keystone OK

Timi Ojo echoed that soil moisture levels appear to be adequate across most of Manitoba heading into spring seeding.

“I wouldn’t expect that we would have an issue with soil moisture this year,” said Ojo, an agriculture meteorology specialist for Manitoba Agriculture.

“In most places, soils were sitting at about 80 to 100 per cent of their available water holding capacity (AWC) from the fall.”

In a typical spring, even if there hadn’t been a late-season storm and even if the ground hadn’t remained frozen longer than normal, the situation would still look pretty similar in terms of soil moisture, especially with AWC numbers where they currently sit, he said.

“Most of the precipitation received over the winter doesn’t actually have a significant impact directly on soil moisture,” Ojo explained. “The two main pathways for precipitation are either to infiltrate the soil or to flow overland. And in the spring, one of the things we see is that most of the precipitation is partitioned towards overland runoff.”

The only areas of the province that may have concerns with soil moisture are areas that were dry in the fall (areas south and west of Duck Mountain, for instance), or areas with low water holding capacity to begin with because of having sandy, coarse soils (the southwest corner of the province around Melita and Pierson). But even in those areas, Ojo said, producers shouldn’t panic.

“I wouldn’t be too worried about it,” he said. “It’s quite early; we expect to have some spring showers coming through.”

While Ojo said farmers are unlikely to see delays in seeding similar to those that emerged last year after the province was hammered with three consecutive Colorado lows, a different weather-related issue might hamper efforts to get crops established this year. With soils still frozen and below-normal temperatures projected between now and June, soil temperature could be a concern for farmers.

“We likely won’t have as much warming as we’d like,” he said. “If the soil temperature is not warming up enough, the seed is going to be in the ground for much longer, and it won’t germinate quickly,” he cautions. “Be mindful of that and watch the soil temperature at seeding depth.”

Weather watching

As always, Burnett said, it’s going to be a balancing act between soil moisture, which gives crops their start, and timely rainfall in the growing season.

“Most of the precipitation that we receive in the Prairies are in the May-June-July-August period,” he said. “If we don’t get normal precipitation during that time frame, and especially if we don’t get it at the right times, then we certainly see crops stress developing.”

Those areas with the lowest subsoil moisture levels are, unsurprisingly, at the highest risk.

“The problem with that is we have no, shall we say, capacity, to withstand severe periods of drought during the growing season,” he said. “So if you get into a dry spell in, let’s say, the first three weeks of July, then you see a lot of stress developing in the crops.”

Subsoil moisture won’t protect the crops entirely, but it’s a decent buffer against the vagaries of nature, as many producers will remember from the recent years of drought in the region, Burnett said.

In the short term he’ll have his eye on southern Manitoba, particularly the Red River Valley, as it works its way through any flooding issues and the late spring.

“It’s probably going to be about another three or four weeks before some farmers get on the fields just because of how much moisture there is around,” he said.

He says he’ll also be monitoring the shifting weather patterns. The La Nina phase that’s been affecting weather has ended and been replaced by a neutral phase that’s likely to be replaced by an El Nino.

“So that means that we probably are gonna see a different weather pattern than we’ve been experiencing for the last few years,” Burnett said.

— Reporting for Glacier FarmMedia by Gord Gilmour, with files from Don Norman and Jeff Melchior.

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Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities Ltd. in Lethbridge said there has been little price movement for the feed grain staple recently as most feedlots are already set for grain for the next few months. Workers at CP agreed March 22 to pursue final and binding arbitration with the railway.

Corn prices “went up a little bit. There’s not a lot moving,” he said. “But the rail (stoppage) ending quickly definitely helped. They’re kind of up-and-down a little bit. Right now, (corn is) at $464 per tonne ($11.79 per bushel).”

By comparison, the high-delivered bid for feed barley in Alberta is $9.80/bu., while feed wheat in Alberta traded as high as $13.88/bu., according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. Fleischhauer added there is not enough volume for both barley and wheat to make feedlots switch from corn.

Rising fuel costs due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine are having very little effect on corn prices, he added, but the lack of snow cover in areas of southern Alberta does not bode well for this year’s grain crop. According to Fleischhauer, some growers are already concerned.

“You get guys that are already starting to scratch a little bit in the fields already,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of moisture this year in the south…We’ll just have to wait and see what transpires here over the next couple of weeks and see what we have for melt. A slow melt would be great for the (Prairie) provinces as opposed to a quick melt and everything getting dry again.

“Two droughts in two years will keep the markets up for sure,” he added.

— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.

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WeatherFarm’s spring forecast, powered by U.S.-based DTN Progressive Farmer, projects a cold start to the spring as likely for the western half of Canada, reversing the milder conditions shown over the past three springs.

The La Nina event over the Pacific Ocean this winter will act as what DTNPF meteorologist Jim Block described Monday as a “forcing function” and “will only slowly fade over the next few months,” the companies said in their outlook.

La Nina — an event characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, known to bring colder and wetter springtime weather patterns to Western Canada — isn’t as strong this year as in 2011, but it’s expected to leave winter “slow to release its grip until mid-spring.”

The later half of the spring is expected to trend more toward average temperatures, WeatherFarm and DTNPF said, but wetness could persist, likely delaying spring field work on the Prairies.

The Prairies’ relatively thin snow cover far this winter — outside of southern Alberta and parts of the Peace region, that is — also raises concerns about crop establishment in 2018, the companies said.

The forecast points to improved moisture levels in the southern Prairies in March and April — and a drier pattern returning in May.

Improved soil moisture conditions this spring are expected to be “critical” for crops grown south of the Trans-Canada Highway, where above-normal precipitation during April would be of the greatest help.

Looking ahead to summer, crops in Western Canada will still be dependent on timely rainfall, DTNPF meteorologist Bryce Anderson said Monday.

It’s a tall order to suggest this spring’s precipitation will serve to restore soil moisture in parts of the Prairies where it’s been drawn down, but a slow start to spring and cooler-than-normal temperatures would help conserve moisture in those areas, WeatherFarm’s Bruce Burnett said.

Wetter conditions may again challenge farmers trying to seed in northern areas of Alberta, the companies added.

Head start

The eastern half of Canada will tend to see a warmer pattern for most of the spring, the companies said.

Outside “intermittent periods” of colder-than-normal air, warmer-than-normal temperatures should be seen for “the majority of the season” in the region, with “adequate” precipitation likely in the western half of Eastern Canada and a short “period of dryness” further east.

There is a better chance of getting a head start on the growing season this spring in areas east of the Great Lakes, the companies said, but otherwise, the region can expect a slow dry.

An early start to the spring melt season has already led to flooding in parts of southwestern Ontario, but the prospects for warmer temperatures this spring will allow for an earlier start to planting, the companies said, and subsoil moisture is considered good to excellent across the province.

Above-normal precipitation — especially in areas recently hit with large amounts of rainfall — could dampen hopes for early planting in parts of the province, the companies cautioned.

The weakening La Nina event now seen over the Pacific leaves the forecasters with a “modest” degree of confidence in their outlook, Block said, compared to the confidence one might expect going through a stronger La Nina or El Nino event.

Looking further ahead, Block sees no strong signatures yet suggesting any return of El Nino — the ocean-warming opposite phase to La Nina — though in the latter part of 2018, forecasters could see the Pacific slide back into a weak La Nina.

Burnett will further discuss the spring outlook on Thursday’s (March 1) episode of Between the Rows, Glacier FarmMedia’s weekly podcast. — AGCanada.com Network

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“I checked the soil temperatures this morning across the Prairies and most of the soils are about -10 C and winter wheat at this stage can still handle that level of coldness…so I think in most areas we are still OK,” Ken Gross said.

Winter wheat can handle soil temperatures as cold as -16 C, said Gross, a director with Winter Cereals Manitoba and agrologist with Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Temperatures throughout the winter in Western Canada have dipped to the -30 C to -40 C range numerous times — and most of the Prairies south of the Trans-Canada Highway have been plagued with little to no snow cover.

“There’s a general lack of snow cover across the southern Prairies. So it sure would be nice to alleviate our concerns if we got a little bit of snow and hopefully warm up a little bit here too,” Gross said.

The Drought Monitor map from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as of Jan. 31 shows a dismal picture, with severe drought conditions in a pocket in southern Alberta and throughout south-central Saskatchewan, and extreme drought conditions around Regina and Weyburn.

The news is better in Manitoba, where there are only moderate drought conditions in the province’s southwest.

North of Winnipeg, meanwhile, there has been adequate snow cover blanketing the fields for most of the winter.

“Up here in our area we’ve had good snow cover for most of the year. So anyone who put winter wheat in I think is going to be OK so far,” said Doug Martin, interim executive director of Winter Cereals Manitoba and a farmer near East Selkirk.

There is still a chance winter wheat crops could be damaged. As the season progresses, winter wheat tends to lose its hardiness.

“March is more of a month that can do more damage on the winter wheat. So that’s where we’ve seen in past years more of the damage,” Martin said.

For the drier areas, if the winter continues without snow, producers should plan to apply nitrogen as soon as possible in the spring, according to Gross.

“If the crop is coming out of the winter a little bit weak, it needs a little bit help… the fertility will help it grow quickly and move through that very successfully.”

The lack of moisture isn’t just affecting Canadian winter wheat; south of the border crops are struggling as well. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s wheat outlook report, released Monday, notes no significant precipitation in the last four months across the southern Plains, causing further deterioration of winter wheat.

According to Gross, the U.S. usually loses about 10 per cent of its winter wheat crop each year to winterkill.

U.S. growers, according to USDA’s Monday report, seeded 32.6 million acres of winter wheat, down one per cent from 2017.

In Canada, winter wheat acres are down as well. According to Statistics Canada, 335,000 acres of winter wheat were seeded in the fall in Western Canada, compared to 535,000 acres the previous year.

This isn’t surprising to Gross. Farmers told him they hadn’t seeded as much winter wheat due to dry conditions which plagued the Prairies last summer.

“There was interest in seeding winter wheat last fall but it was just so dry it was hard,” he said. “Guys were really reticent to get out there and seed into concrete.”

— Ashley Robinson writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting. Follow her at @AshleyMR1993 on Twitter.

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Wheat also declined, with soft red winter wheat futures pressured by forecasts for snow in some U.S. production areas.

Corn was little changed as pressure from an improved Argentine weather forecast was offset by rising U.S. export demand.

The market’s focus is shifting to next week’s monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand reports, when the agency is expected to adjust its South American crop estimates following a stretch of adverse weather.

Forecasts for wetter, cooler weather eased jitters about Argentine drought damage, while a drier outlook in Brazil could help harvesting of what is expected to be another bumper crop.

Several private forecasters this week cut their forecasts for Argentine crops but expanded Brazilian harvest views.

“If we lose two or three million metric tonnes in bean supply in Argentina, it could be offset by an equivalent amount in Brazil,” said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics.

The soybean market is also facing pressure from tepid demand for U.S. cargoes as sales fell to a seven-month low last week.

Chicago Board of Trade March soybeans were down 6-1/4 cents at $9.78-3/4 a bushel, ending the week down 0.7 per cent for its first weekly drop in three weeks (all figures US$). The contract failed to breach chart resistance at its 100-day moving average, and selling accelerated as prices fell below its 50- and 200-day moving averages.

CBOT March corn was 1/4 cent lower at $3.61-1/2 a bushel but notched a 1.4 per cent weekly increase, its third straight.

USDA reported another 365,000 tonnes of U.S. corn export sales on Friday, its seventh daily corn sales announcement in nine days.

CBOT March soft red winter wheat shed 4-1/4 cents to $4.46-3/4 a bushel but ended the week up 1.3 per cent, rising for a third straight week.

K.C. March hard red winter wheat was down 3-3/4 cents at $4.63-1/4 a bushel. The contract was up 4.6 per cent in the week, its third straight weekly gain and the strongest weekly advance in seven months.

Forecasts for snow in the eastern U.S. Midwest weighed on the market as the protective snow cover and increased moisture was seen boosting the SRW crop. Dry conditions in the U.S. Plains offered underlying support to the HRW market.

— Karl Plume reports on agriculture and agribusiness for Reuters from Chicago; additional reporting for Reuters by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Gus Trompiz in Paris.

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That freak snow — only the third time in 40 years — made for some fantastic photographs before melting, but would be more welcome in Western Canada where many areas have now seen less moisture than an actual desert this winter.

As of Wednesday, snow cover maps of the three Prairie provinces showed a large section of central Saskatchewan with virtually no snow, while levels elsewhere are generally well below average for this time of year.

Aside from the Peace River region of northern Alberta/British Columbia, precipitation maps compiled by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada show levels well below normal in most crop growing areas.

As of Dec. 31, 2017, much of south-central Saskatchewan, around Regina, was in an “extreme” drought situation. Manitoba was “abnormally dry,” while conditions in Alberta and the rest of Saskatchewan ranged from having no drought indicators to “severe drought.”

Crop yields turned out better than expected in many parts of Western Canada in 2017, despite a lack of precipitation, as the crops made use of subsoil moisture. However, that moisture is now depleted, and will need to be replenished if there is to be a crop in 2018.

“Soil moisture at the time of freeze-up was poor throughout much of the southern Prairies,” Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Drought Watch department said in an emailed statement.

Precipitation and warmer-than-normal temperatures in late November helped improve soil moisture in portions of southern Alberta and western Saskatchewan, according to the Drought Watch analysts.

Currently there is minimal snow coverage in the southern Prairies, with Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan showing the largest precipitation deficits this winter, according to Drought Watch. “Without snow cover, soils are exposed to increased moisture loss.”

“At this point, the amount of snow cover is not a tremendous concern for spring soil moisture as most of the soil moisture recharge does not come from winter snowpack, but rather late winter precipitation and early spring rains,” according to the Drought Watch analysts.

“The significant concern at this time with low snowpack is that water supplied will not recharge unless we get significant late winter snow.”

There is still plenty of time for more precipitation, with the Regina area seeing some freezing rain overnight (Jan. 9-10).

As a result, “producers should be watching their moisture levels closely as spring approaches,” said Drought Watch.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

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Corn also rose on spillover support from wheat and as traders covered short positions following recent contract lows.

Soybeans fell to three-month lows as rain in parts of Brazil and Argentina was seen favouring crops there.

Traders continued to square positions ahead of the year-end holidays and in anticipation of the rebalancing of portfolios by commodity funds early in the new year.

“Short-covering is lifting the wheat market. It got off to a poor start, but renewed concerns about the cold spell across the U.S. with a lack of snowfall coverage is bringing some of the longs back into the market,” said Terry Reilly, senior commodities analyst with Futures International.

Temperatures in hard wheat growing areas are expected to be below normal next week, forecasters said. Sub-zero lows measured in Fahrenheit are not forecast to be as widespread as thought earlier this week, but temperatures in some areas may still be frigid enough to damage crops, they said.

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) March soft red winter wheat were up four cents at $4.23-1/2 a bushel after earlier peaking at $4.24-1/2, the highest since Dec. 8 (all figures US$). K.C. March hard red winter wheat was up 2-1/2 cents at $4.22-1/2 a bushel.

CBOT March corn was up 1-3/4 cents at $3.49-1/4 a bushel.

A weekly U.S. Energy Information Administration report confirmed continued strong use of corn by ethanol makers. The current production pace suggests that corn use by the ethanol industry may be above the latest U.S. Agriculture Department annual usage forecast, analysts said.

January soybeans fell two cents to $9.54 a bushel after earlier falling to $9.52-3/4, the lowest since Sept. 12.

Brazil and Argentina are on track for another year of bumper soybean production as rains ease concerns over dry weather brought by the La Nina weather phenomenon.

Rains that fell on Argentina’s main farm belt over the weekend brought relief to parched soybean and corn-growing lands, meteorologists said on Monday, allowing the planting of crops to resume in most of the affected areas.

Central Brazil is expected to receive extensive rains over the next 10 days, while northern areas could get rain in the 11- to 15-day period, meteorologists Commodity Weather Group said in a note to clients.

— Karl Plume reports on agriculture and agribusiness for Reuters from Chicago; additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.

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