Impact of wet spring on 2019 plantings visible from space

Composite satellite images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration show the Midwest
during the same week in late June in 2018 and 2019. (Image composite by The Washington Post)

You've likely heard how much this season's record-breaking rains have slowed planting in the Midwest, but to paraphrase, a GIF is worth a thousand words.

This time of the year, satellite images usually reflect a sea of green as corn and soybeans shoot up, but right now the Midwest is "more brown belt than farm belt," John Muyskens, Laris Karklis, and Andrew Van Dam write for The Washington Post. The difference is clear in the GIF above, which contrasts NASA satellite images from the same week in June 2018 and June 2019.

"Unplanted, drowned or late fields have two things in common: They look brown from space, and they mean farmers will probably harvest less corn and soybeans this year than they had planned," the Post reports. "For corn, planting is effectively over and the die has been cast, although we won’t know the results until late fall. Soybean acres are not likely to be fully planted, either — the end of the planting window, unofficially considered to be July 4 — looms large."