WASHINGTON, Oct. 18: Weather in the U.S. Midwest was generally favorable for harvesting for the week ended Oct. 16, 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s weekly crop progress report.

Generally speaking, sunny weather helps farmers to work in the fields, whereas rainy and wet weather is not conducive to farmland operations. So farm days can be considered an indicator of drought (or rainfall) over the past week in the U.S. Midwest and Plains. A higher number of days means more dry weather and less rain.

In the corn belt of the Midwest, Illinois had 5.1 days suitable for farm work, compared with 7.0 days last week and 2.7 days in the same period last year; Indiana had 6.2 days suitable for farm work, compared with 6.8 days last week and 3.4 days in the same period last year. The number of days suitable for farm work in Iowa was 6.1 days, compared with 6.5 days last week and 4.7 days a year earlier.

In Kansas, the top winter wheat-producing state, the number of days suitable for farm work was 6.6 days, compared with 6.5 days last week and 4.5 days a year earlier. Oklahoma was 6.7 days, 6.9 days last week and 4.8 days a year earlier. Texas was 6.3 days, 6.6 days a week ago, and 5.4 days a year earlier.