Happy 2013! During our holiday travels visiting family in Ohio, we were inundated with 6-10 inches of snow the day after Christmas - it got worse as we drove north. But on our way home to Chicago as we crossed over the Illinois state line, it was as if someone had flipped off the snow switch, and we were back to bare ground. It's cold, but the snowball makers the kids got for Christmas will do them no good here in northern Illinois.

Let's take a look at recent world agricultural weather highlights:

United States

Dry weather from South Dakota to Texas left US winter wheat conditions at their lowest levels on record for late November. Winter wheat struggled to emerge on the northern Plains due to the normal seasonal decline in soil and air temperatures. Farther east, most areas from the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast experienced cool, dry conditions. The northern Mid-Atlantic region saw dry weather. Farther south, mostly dry conditions caused renewed drought concerns in some southern Atlantic States.

South America

Chronic wetness continued to plague farmers in central Argentina, hindering planting of summer grains and oilseeds and keeping maturing winter grains unfavorably wet. Seasonable rainfall in central Brazil benefited emerging soybeans and cotton, as well as sugarcane, coffee and citrus. In southern Brazil, periodic dryness aided winter wheat harvesting and soybean planting, though inundating rain in early December was untimely for unharvested wheat in Rio Grande do Sul.

Europe

In November, wet conditions prevailed across much of Europe, slowing late winter crop planting in France and England but maintaining adequate to abundant soil moisture for winter grains and oilseeds. In Spain and Italy, locally heavy rain supplied soil moisture for winter wheat and boosted irrigation supplies for warm-season crops.

Former Soviet Union - Western

In November, persistent drought in the south contrasted with favorable rain and snow in the north. Soil moisture remained limited for winter wheat establishment in southern-most Ukraine and Russia's Southern District, although an abnormally warm November and early December extended the growing season.

Northwestern Africa

Above-normal November rainfall from Morocco into northern Tunisia boosted topsoil moisture for winter grain planting and establishment. However, locally heavy rain may have necessitated some replanting.

Middle East & Turkey

Moderate to heavy rain boosted soil moisture for winter crop establishment from central Turkey into Iran. In contrast, drier-than-normal conditions in western Turkey reduced soil moisture for winter crops, although rain returned to these crop areas in early December. Warmer-than-normal weather prevented crops from going dormant.

Asia

South: Summer crop harvesting in northern India was completed in November allowing winter crop planting to advance. Generally warm, sunny conditions favored planting and emergence of rapeseed and wheat in India's northern tier states. In southern India, unseasonably heavy rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Nilam provided a boost to moisture supplies for rabi crops but locally reduced cotton yields.

Eastern: Rainfall was generally near normal across the North China Plain and the Yangtze Valley, where moisture supplies remained adequate for vegetative winter wheat and rapeseed. By month's end, colder weather began easing wheat into dormancy across northern crop.

Southeast: Despite inconsistent rainfall, moisture conditions were favorable for rice in Java, Indonesia. In the Philippines, generally dry weather favored summer crop harvesting as well as winter crop planting. In early December, the storm surge from Super Typhoon Bopha caused crop damage in low-lying fields in Mindanao.

Australia

Cool, wet weather arrived too late in the growing season to benefit maturing winter grains and oilseeds in Western Australia. Unseasonably warm, dry weather in southern and eastern Australia hastened wheat, barley, and canola maturation and harvesting. Very hot weather increased irrigation requirements for vegetative summer crops and likely stressed some dryland crops.

South Africa

In November and early December, rainfall increased throughout the corn belt, providing timely moisture for germination and establishment of corn and other rain-fed summer crops. Frequent, occasionally heavy rain maintained generally favorable conditions for sugarcane in KwaZulu-Natal.

As we ring in 2013, let's hope for better weather conditions than we saw in 2012.

Have a great week and a great 2013!