As winter nears its end, farmers are now looking forward to getting back to their fields for planting season. The forecast is up in the air, but there are a few things that ag scientists are keeping an eye on.
“What I’m worried about is west of the Mississippi. I think we need to be keeping a close eye on some of the weather patterns that have created some massive deficits in parts of the southwest U.S. and even at times in the Plains,” Eric Snodgrass with Nutrien Ag Solutions. “I mean, I know we’re not going to look back too far, but we’ve not had much snow across the northern tier of the U.S., and fall’s drought still lingering with really terrible subsurface soil moisture problems. So, I think we might be watching a situation where drought heat pushes from the west toward us, and the question is, ‘Does it get here and does it get here in time to cause an issue?’”
In fact, Snodgrass says that the chances of drought this season are actually pretty high.
“There’s a 60% chance that the central U.S. deals with adverse weather on the hot, dry side of things, based on what we know today, and I think until that narrative is broken, or if I have overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I got to keep telling folks about it,” he notes.
Snodgrass underscores the uncertainty for farmers, noting how quickly the world’s weather patterns can change.
