RAINS HELP U.S. WESTERN CORN BELT, MORE SEEN Weekend rain over the Western Corn Belt brought further relief to crop areas that had been dry earlier this month, and developing weather patterns will bring welcome moisture to central and eastern belt locations this week, according to Dale Mohler, senior meteorologist for Accu-Weather Inc. "There is going to be more rain for the next two, three days," he said. "We're in a fairly wet pattern with normal to above normal moisture this week." Mohler said rainfall averaged 1/2 inch across southern Minnesota, 3/4 inch over southwest Iowa, one inch in eastern Nebraska and 1-1/2 inches in south-central Nebraska. Illinois fields saw virtually no rain over the weekend but were receiving scattered thundershower activity today, he said. Rain patterns will move across Indiana to Ohio with thudershower activity yielding to more general rains, he said. "Tomorrow, that eastern area will get 1/4 to one inch, a pretty good rain," Mohler said. Rain was heavier than expected over the weekend, sparking an early selloff in soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices were off 14 to 20-1/2 cents with November off 19-1/2 cents at 5.43-1/2 dlrs. Mohler said the cold front now over the eastern belt is expected to move over the central Midwest, then move north later in the week. That could bring new rain patterns across the Corn Belt and assure good crop conditions as early-developed corn moves into the crucial pollination stage in early July, he said.