US Plains winter wheat belt sees timely rain

The recently planted US hard red winter wheat crop will get some needed rain on Thursday in Kansas, Colorado and northern Oklahoma before dry weather returns to the Plains, said a private forecaster.
The developing wheat, especially in top wheat state Kansas, was expected to see 0.3 to 1.5 inches (8-38 mm) of rain on Thursday. "This is really just what they need to help this crop because it's been getting a little bit dry," said Mike Palmerino, forecaster with Meteorlogix.
The forecast calls for the Plains to see dry weather for the next seven days with high temperatures in the mid-40s to mid-50s Fahrenheit (7-13 Celsius) in the northern Plains and in the 60s to low 70s F (16-22 Celsius) in the southern half. Producers in the region have been struggling with dry conditions as they finish planting hard red winter wheat. The US Agriculture Department said the US winter wheat crop was 86 percent planted, in line with the planting pace of 87 percent a year ago.