News Crop News Dry Weather Hits Cornfields in Southern Europe and China Dry weather and excessive heat is affect corn yields in southern Europe as well as northeastern China By Dave Mowitz Dave Mowitz In 1982 Dave came to Successful Farming as a senior editor first covering agronomic topics and then machinery. He went on to serve the nation's farmers as executive editor of Successful Farming Magazine and editor of the Ageless Iron Almanac, a bimonthly publication covering the hobby of agricultural collectibles. Dave recently retired from the Successful Farming family but continues to serve the organization as a contributing editor. Successful Farming's Editorial Guidelines Published on September 2, 2015 Trending Videos Close this video player California and the Pacific Northwest are not the only agricultural areas suffering from a drought. The USDA's World Agricultural Weather Highlights reports that excessive heat and dryness cut corn yield prospects from Spain and southern France into Italy and the Balkans in August. The much drier- and warmer-than-normal weather appeared to be spreading into central and northern Europe. This trend was expected to accelerate "winter crop maturation and harvesting (for winter wheat) but reduc[e] soil moisture for upcoming winter crop planting." Also, China got hit with uncharacteristically dry weather for much of July, the USDA report noted. "The dryness was most pronounced across northeastern China, where it coincided with corn progressing through the early stages of reproduction and likely reduced yields." To access the monthly World Agricultural Weather Highlights, go to http://www.usda.gov/oce/weather/pubs/Weekly/Wwcb/index.htm. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit