Extra-hot weather fires up US harvest

Chicago

UNSEASONABLY hot US weather is accelerating corn and soya crop maturity after months of concerns that lagging development could drag down yields or put some late-planted acres at risk of damage from frost, agronomists and analysts said.

Farmers around the US Midwest are racing to harvest crops under mostly clear skies and temperatures more indicative of mid-summer than early autumn, with highs in the 32°-38° Celsius range speeding up in-field grain drying.

Cash bids at several elevators and processors around the Midwest weakened in anticipation of an influx of grain in the coming days and weeks, while costs for shipping supplies by barge to Gulf Coast …