The 2020 maize harvest has got off to an early start. With early-sown crops growing fast in the May heatwave, farmers have been taking advantage of early ripening of cobs to get the crop out, facilitating reseeding or winter crop planting, if desired.

First reports are of good, though not record-breaking, cob size and quality, with the drought limiting potential.

Later-sown crops did not suffer in from the same stress, but also failed to benefit as much from the early summer heat. Those crops also look quite good, but have weeks of maturing ahead.