Crop Conditions
NOAA and CPC issue an official El Niño watch with a 62% chance of forming by late summer. Meteorologist Drew Lerner explains why it’s coming sooner than expected, but warns the extreme forecasts may be overstated. What it could mean for global crops this year.
With 86% of North American feed ingredient samples testing above the risk threshold for mycotoxins, livestock may face stacked biological stress.
Leading ag meteorologists share the weather drivers they are watching.
The disease is causing turmoil for farmers who have a large crop in the making. In some cases, a Hail Mary fungicide application at R4 up to early dent (R5) might make sense this season, say agronomists.
Despite USDA’s strong corn condition ratings, more agronomists and farmers are reporting pollination problems from what’s being called ‘overly tight tassel wrap,’ an issue that can’t be seen until you walk into your fields.
The silver lining, meteorologists say, is many farmers and livestock producers in the central and eastern U.S. have had sufficient moisture this spring and milder temperatures headed into summer. For some, that’s about to change.
This spring turned into the wettest in over a century for parts of the U.S. As the focus shifts to June, the moisture in the ground will help keep the heat down, but the pattern is also turning drier for two Midwestern states.
The start of June could bring high heat and drier weather, which is a stark contrast from the forecast for the last week of May.
USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says climate models have consistently shown a ridge across western North America that could lead to drought development, drought continuation or even drought expansion across portions of the Plains and West.
Record-breaking heat hit areas of the U.S. this week with snow in the forecast for the weekend. As the disparity of moisture plays out, Nutrien’s Eric Snodgrass says he’s still concerned about the risk of drought.
Drew Lerner, founder of World Weather, Inc., says the summer of 1968 had some strong patterns, including a wetter bias in the western and north-central U.S., but drier in most of the Atlantic Coast states and parts of the eastern and southern Midwest.
Farmers in the upper Plains, northern Plains and Northeast came up short on snow for the 2024/25 season. In some cases, they experienced the winter that wasn’t, now sitting 10" to 30" short on normal snowfall.
Don’t let the calendar, coffee shop talk or what your neighbors are doing dictate when you head to the field. Farm Journal field agronomists offer these four tips to help you get your best start ever with #planting2025.
Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien’s principal atmospheric scientist, breaks down what the next few days of heavy rains mean for drought risk and what planting windows could look like in the weeks ahead.
ENSO-neutral means conditions could be close to average, but Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien’s principal atmospheric scientist, says that doesn’t mean the weather will be normal this spring and summer with growing concerns about drought.
About 45% of U.S. corn production acres and 36% of the soybean ground are dry. The western Corn Belt needs moisture, in particular. A big, wet snowstorm could help, says Eric Snodgrass.
With eyes on the forecast for July, one ag meteorologist says it looks fairly favorable for much of the Midwest, but there are a few wild cards.
Crop conditions continue to fall as extreme weather plagues this year’s growing season.
Row crop planting has picked up considerable steam over the last week with corn acres now at 80% complete and soybeans at 68%. Both crops are ahead of the five-year average.
There’s now a 60% chance La Niña will develop between June and August and an 85% chance it’s in effect by November 2024 to January 2025, according to NOAA.
From the intense heat in the South to drought blanketing much of the U.S., weather stole headlines again in 2023. What caused such extreme conditions? One meteorologist explains the culprits of the heat and drought.
The shift to El Nino brings several changes to the upcoming winter.
What’s often called the “white combine” is hammering western Kansas this year, an ugly reality for an area that’s finally receiving rain after nearly five years of drought.
Hurricane-force winds swept from northern Missouri and Iowa all the way east to Illinois and Indiana. The derecho brought wind gusts up to 100 mph, flattening cornfields, but it also drenched soils with crucial rains.
On Thursday, forecasters issued an El Niño Advisory, meaning El Niño conditions are now present and expected to gradually strengthen into the winter.
As La-Niña ends, meteorologists say the next two months could determine whether we see a drought like 2012 or a return of regular rains across the lower 48.
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