Winter weather brings much-needed moisture to parts of the Midwest
January 2023
Much of the Midwest was plagued with drought throughout the 2022 growing and harvest seasons. This left many growers unable to complete some of their traditional post-harvest field prep tasks, such as tillage. According to the recent U.S. Drought Monitor, areas of Kansas and Nebraska are still experiencing drought-like conditions, so a lot of moisture is still needed in some areas. Fortunately, parts of the upper Midwest, from the Dakotas to Minnesota and Iowa, have experienced large amounts of heavy, wet snow and even rain as of late, which will help replenish some of the moisture lacking from last year.
“Nobody likes to deal with the snow, but at the same time, with the drought we had this fall, it’s a source of moisture for this upcoming spring,” says Ben Shepherd, technical agronomist for Stine®. “We still have a way to go, but it’s good to get the moisture now; we need to see the positive.”
Shepherd adds that if drought-like conditions continue through the spring, growers may be dealing with germination and emergence issues.
“We need to get the crop up and growing,” says Shepherd. “We don’t want to plant the seed into a few inches of dry dirt in the topsoil. We need the moisture to germinate that seed and to get it going. This latest bout of precipitation should help.”
For growers who typically conduct tillage post-harvest but played it safe in 2022 because of the drought-like conditions, snowfall now should make it easier to complete a spring pass before planting.
“If they didn’t do a fall tillage, depending on their farm practices, with this recent moisture, growers in the areas with the higher precipitation should be able to have the moisture they need come spring for tillage.”
And growers who have already ordered seed for the upcoming season should still feel at ease with their selection.
“We help growers select the right seed for their environment, and the majority of our corn hybrids and soybean varieties are versatile. With Stine genetics, you should see outstanding emergence, even if you’re on the drier side.”
If the Farmer’s Almanac is correct, we’re still in for “loads of snow” this winter. Here’s hoping this additional precipitation will bring more moisture to improve our soil profile for planting season.
Interested in exploring our corn and soybean seed options for the 2023 planting season? Contact us to get started.