A lack of rainfall in many areas combined with a couple weeks of intense heat in the southwest has advanced this year's crops. 

Kale Wilson, regional crop specialist, talked about how the dry condions are affecting crops this year.

"There hasn't been any significant rainfall in most areas of the southwest since seeding or before, so things have almost started to burn," said Wilson. "Cereals are starting to turn so I imagine things will start to get swathed here probably the beginning of this week. If guys are going to swath, and I'm not expecting good things out of the cereals either, they're starting to burn a little prematurely, and I don't think the moisture is there for them to fill completely, and the same goes for the oil seeds like canola."  

Wilson added that things are starting early further south.

"As you go south towards the border that's where the harvest has really started, and as far as yields go as far as I have heard, it's below average." 

He notes that thanks to the subsoil moisture going into the spring this year in some areas, crops have been able to hang through the hot and dry weather.