Scattered showers (5-25 mm or more) and seasonably warm weather in the Baltics, Belarus, western Ukraine, and the western Central District in Russia continued to benefit immature spring grains and summer crops. Elsewhere, hot, mostly dry weather in eastern Ukraine, the Southern District in Russia, and southern and eastern portions of the Volga District in Russia hastened crop development and amplified evaporative losses, aiding small grain maturation and harvesting but increasing stress on immature summer crops.
Temperatures in these latter regions averaged 3 to 6°C above normal, with daily maximum temperatures routinely in the lower to middle 30s degrees C.
Drier-than-normal July weather accelerated the harvesting of winter grains and oilseeds from northern Ukraine into western and southern Russia.
Meanwhile, spotty showers in central and eastern Ukraine provided some soil moisture for reproductive summer crops, although a lack of stressful heat maintained overall favorable corn and sunflower yield prospects.