Unrelenting rain takes toll on area fields

We had another dry fall leading to excellent harvest conditions. Yields were generally far above expectations. Grain quality was phenomenal. Corn and soybeans came out of the fields dry and while they were perhaps a little too dry, harvest went quickly with few delays. A lot of money budgeted was never spent on dryer gas. A rainfall in this area of 1.5” in early September allowed fall tillage to be performed easily although as one moved farther west, drier conditions made tillage more difficult. Soils continued to dry after the early September rain, with an inch falling in late October and about a half inch falling over five little dribbles for the month of November. When soil moisture readings were taken before November freeze up, around 4” of available moisture was all that was found in the top 5’ of soil, and most of this was in the upper 12”–18” of the profile.

The Bad:

The dry late summer and fall set the table for our first disaster of 2013, namely discovering that much of the already tight alfalfa hay acreage had winter killed. Snow cover in December looked promising to protect the crowns that had little chance to regrow and translocate carbohydrates to the taproot last fall. Unfortunately most of that snow melted the second week In January, leaving the alfalfa exposed and vulnerable. Some extremely cold weather in late January and early February were largely responsible in this area although in others ice sheeting was also involved. Snow cover returned by February 22nd but by then it was already too late. Older stands that were already crippled succumbed and some younger stands that had been aggressively harvested after mid-September were also severely damaged.

The Ugly:

When the first measurement was taken this spring at the SROC in Waseca on April 15th, we had 9.2” of moisture available in the top 5’ of soil. Flash ahead to the early May snow that added another 2+” in areas and we were seeing what we thought was light at the end of the tunnel for our 2012 rainfall woes. Instead it turned out to be the train coming. At the SROC, the 1991 record for precipitation for the months March–May was broken at 16.11”. May precipitation there was the sixth-wettest in 102 years of records. The precipitation by itself was bad enough, but the frequency of precipitation in May was a telling factor. There was recorded measurable precipitation on 21 of the 31 days in May. There simply were not enough drying days to allow us to get in the fields. June has not been much better. Seed that appeared viable yet on May 24th met its demise by the time the calendar flipped over to June. In Mark Seeley’s most recent “Weather Talk,” solar radiation for the first week in June was the lowest measured at the St. Paul Campus Climate Observatory since records began being kept back in 1963. There has already been recorded measurable precipitation on five out of the first 10 days in June.

Saturated soils wreaked havoc with corn planted in areas of fields where drainage was an issue. Corn will not germinate in the absence of oxygen and soil temperatures in those saturated areas remained colder than the areas where moisture got away more quickly. Seed corn planted the week of May 12th that appeared viable yet in those saturated areas as of May 24th likely met its demise by the time the calendar flipped over to June. Now we have a full blown disaster on our hands with many fields unable to be planted to corn and some that may not be planted to soybeans. Planting on corn in the local area is probably on average 55%-65% complete and decreases into the 30%-35% range as one travels east. This brings about additional management considerations such as addressing nitrogen loss on planted acres, cover crops, nitrogen credits and potential forage establishment, not to mention the ramifications all of this will have on Main Street not only locally but perhaps beyond. Stay tuned.

To stay abreast of current weekly crop weather developments, read my Fencelines column. We always include a section on crop progress and what we’ve been seeing over the previous week. I’ve also recently signed on for year 10 as Tour Consultant/Agronomist on the Eastern leg of the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour. Look for that info starting the week of August 18th. In the meantime, pray for favorable growing conditions!