Latest USDA weather update for eastern FSU

Snow was slow to melt in the north, while locally heavy rain maintained favourable soil moisture in the south.

A cold start to the month was followed by notably warmer weather by the end of March, though snow remained over northern Kazakhstan and neighbouring portions of Russia into early April.

Meanwhile, wetter-than-normal conditions (locally more than 200 percent of normal) in southern growing areas hampered cotton planting but maintained favourable prospects for reproductive to filling winter wheat, particularly in Uzbekistan.