In general, crop condition is above average in the North American MPZ (figure 2.2). This monitoring period was covering the harvesting season of winter crops and the beginning of the growing season of summer crops.

总体而言，北美粮食主产区的作物长势好于过去5年平均水平。2016年4月-7月是北美粮食主产区夏粮作物的收获期，是秋量作物的关键生长期。

The agroclimatic indicators show that rainfall was 11% above average, while temperature was below by 0.3°C. Abundant rainfall fell over the major crop production zones, including the Canadian Prairies, Great Plains, Southern Corn Belt, and Mississippi Delta, providing sufficient soil moisture for crops. Compared to the previous year, the Canadian Prairie finally witnessed the end of a serious water deficit as a result of above rainfall in Alberta (RAIN, +16%), Manitoba (+23%), and Saskatchewan (+10%). Abundant rainfall was also recorded across the whole Great Plains, including North Dakota (+55%), South Dakota (+40%), Nebraska (+38%), Kansas (+56%), Oklahoma (+40%), and Texas (+45%), a state where excessive rainfall also caused serious flooding. In the southern Corn Belt, slightly above average RAIN was observed in Illinois (+10%), Iowa (+13%), and Indiana (+4%). In the major rice production zone, Arkansas also recorded slightly above rainfall with a 11% positive departure. Below average rainfall fell over eastern and southern states of the United States, including Georgia (-22%), Ohio (-22%), and Michigan (-27%). After a relatively warm winter, the temperature of the whole region underwent a downward trends after March and reached below average values (-2°C) in July.

CropWatch农气气象指数监测表明，监测期内的累积降水量较过去15年同期平均水平偏高11%，温度偏低0.3℃。加拿大大草原、美国大平原、玉米带南部地区、密西西比河三角洲等粮食主产区的降水量较为充沛，为作物的生长提供了充足的水分供给。与过去15年同期水平相比，加拿大大草原主产省艾伯塔、曼尼托巴、萨斯克彻温的降水分别偏高16%、23%与10%，与2015年同期的严重干旱形成鲜明对比。与此同时，整个美国大平原地区都迎来丰富的降水，其中北达科他、南达科他、内布拉斯加、堪萨斯、俄克拉荷马、德克萨斯的降水分别偏高55%、40%、38%、56%、40%与45%，德克萨斯地区因为强降水发生较为严重的洪涝灾害。在玉米带的南部地区，伊利诺伊、艾奥瓦、印第安纳的降水量较过去15年平均水平分别偏高10%、13%与4%。在水稻主产区，阿肯色州的降水量较过去15年平均水平偏高11%。但是在美国东部与南部地区，降水量较过去15年平均水平偏低，如佐治亚、俄亥俄、密歇根的降水分别偏低22%、22%与27%。在经历了一个相对的暖冬之后，2016年3月份之后，温度呈现逐步下滑的趋势，7月份的温度较过去15年同期平均水平偏低2℃。

The generally above average crop condition in the MPZ is supported by a high average VCIx value (0.91), while in the southern Canadian Prairie and the Corn Belt, VCIx even exceeded 1, indicating very favorable crop condition. Water deficit in the northeast Corn Belt resulted in a biomass accumulation potential drop of 20%. According to the CropWatch CALF indicator over the whole monitoring period, 91% of arable lands were cropped, which is 1 percentage point above the average of the recent five years.

监测期内北美粮食主产区最佳植被状态指数（VCIx）高达0.91，这也验证了北美粮食主产区总体较好的作物长势，特别是的加拿大大草原南部地区和美国玉米带的局部地区的最佳植被状态指数处于历史最高值，作物长势喜人。在美国玉米带的东北部地区，受作物水分胁迫的影响，潜在累积生物量与过去5年同期水平相比，偏低20%。CropWatch耕地种植比例指数表明，已种植作物的耕地比例高达91%，较近五年同期水平水平偏高1%。