Weather - General
The latest drought monitor shows a dramatic shift. A year ago, 100% of the state was drought free. And today, 100% of North Dakota is seeing some level of drought; a concern for farmers who fear drought will linger.
“Over the last 20 years, we’ve never seen a drought situation looking like this through February,” says Nutrien Ag Solutions’ Eric Snodgrass.
While weather this week is helping bring moisture to portions of the Plains, climatologists say you have to go back a couple decades to see a drought scenario similar to this year. The dryness is planting concerns.
Farmers are entering into spring planting season with drought covering a most of the western half of the country. A new study looking into the problem shows dry periods between rain have become longer in the West.
With a consecutive warm and dry days in much of the Corn Belt, some farmers were able to start planting earlier than normal last week, but the weather pattern this week is flipping, with a cooler bias setting in.
Early April was met with some eagerness to plant, and as some areas see dry soils, planters have started to roll. From Kansas to Illinois, farmers sowed their first seeds of the 2021 growing season.
As the calendar flips to April this week, farmers are focused on spring weather forecasts. Meteorologist Mike Hoffman expects mild temperatures for much of the country, but the moisture situation is a mixed bag.
Farmers have much to consider weather-wise as they head out to plant this year, with drought covering more than half the country. And meteorologists fear the drought in the West may worsen.
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It’s Christmas week and as holiday plans may look a little different this year, Mike Hoffman says it’s unlikely the U.S. will see a widespread white Christmas.
The outlook continues to be for hot and dry conditions.
It could be a dry winter in the South and a wetter than normal winter in the North, according to NOAA’s latest winter forecast. Nebraska state climatologist says she’s concerned about soil moisture heading into spring.
The active weather pattern from last week could continue to hang over much of the country. That means many areas could see more rain and even more snow; a pattern that could persist over the next month.
Farmers outside of Grand Forks, North Dakota are busying harvesting this week. Despite the snow, farmers say moisture content in the corn is coming down slightly and test weight is seeing a slight bump.
Dryness remains the biggest concern in the West, but moisture may be making its way to those areas this week. For crops in the Midwest looking for a drink, the forecast doesn’t look very promising.
While the moisture story differs across the country, outlooks are mixed. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey thinks a wetter weather pattern could play out while Drew Lerner of World Weather sees dryness creeping in.
Farmers affected by natural disasters in 2018 and 2019, including Hurricane Dorian, can apply for assistance through the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+).
For the last several months, the grain markets had to digest how an extremely wet spring plays out for prices. But how will the grain markets move with a hot and dry forecast?
Farm Journal’s field agronomist Missy Bauer says small seed size can have a major impact on soybean yield, causing yields to swing 15 to 20 bu. per acre.