Crops were slightly above average in the United States from July to October2014, during which the winter wheat harvest was completed and other crops started being harvested. During the previous monitoring period (April to July),drought conditions caused the decrease of winter wheat production; the water shortage eased during the current period in the west of the country due to significant increase of rainfall, especially benefiting California (+17% or average), Oregon (+38%), and Washington (+28%). The drought continued in Texas(-5%). In soybean growing areas and the corn belt, abundant rainfall continued this monitoring period: Illinois (+68%), Iowa (+91%), Missouri (+77%),Nebraska (+90%), Indiana (+27%), Wisconsin (+13%), and Minnesota (+7%). Amplemoisture was available for maize and soybean growth. RADPAR typically decreased when rainfall increased in temperate countries and the following RADPAR values were recorded in Illinois (-4%), Iowa (-7%), Missouri (-3%), Indiana (-4%), and Minnesota (-7%). As a result of reduced sunshine, soybean and maize were only slightly above average in the major production regions. However, in the major production states, in central Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, the crop conditionis above average. CropWatch results indicate that, over the reporting period)the accumulation of biomass (BIOMSS) exceeded the average by 14% while the fraction of cropped arable land was increased by 3%. Cropping intensity,however, decreased (-1%) compared to the recent five-year average. Although winter wheat condition was below average for the United States, the analysis of the CropWatch indicators points at above average production of soybean and maize. (See also table B.5 in Annex B.)

Figure3.31. United States crop condition, July-October2014

(a)Crop condition development graph based on NDVI   (b)Maximum VCI

(c)Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA   (d)NDVI profiles