Keeping Up on Crop Weather

We expect a few new weather records to be set each year. This is only normal for weather. After all if a weather station is brand new, every day is a new record. If the station is a year old we would expect that almost no days would have the same temperature as last year so it would be, again, almost a new record every day. As the years go by the chance of setting a new record diminishes but does not disappear. All this describes a climate that is not significantly changing. With most of our records for stations more than 50 years old and many more than 100 years old, the likelihood of setting a new record is diminished but still very real

The Nation’s Wet Spot

It only takes a glance at the year’s (water year begins in October) precipitation map to identify the region of ABNORMAL wetness. The record setting floods of 2008 are no surprise in light of the records. If it seems that high water years in the Midwest are increasingly common since about 1970; they are

Crop weather indicators for 2005

The 2004 crop weather proved to be a record setter. A like weather pattern occurs about once every 10 years. It may not be the “best” strategy to assume that next year will be the same and that the best crop varieties during the 2004 season will be the best in 2005. Then again, do not fully rule it out; there is a 1-in-10 chance it will happen again

March 2008 La Nina Update

An area of warm sea surface temperature has formed off the Peru coast. Watch this to possibly “kill” La Nina. By March 3 the water north of Australia was cooling and west of Peru was warming.Two signs of a La Nina about to fade (and with it the risk of serious Midwest drought diminishes somewhat). Also the slight cooling north and east of Hawaii is a step toward a good season for the High Plains. The Trade Winds on March 3 remained stronger than usual near the “date line,” but have diminished to below normal off the coast of S. America (110W). This is may be a step toward a shift to El Nino

Iowa Corn 2009 Outlook, as of August 1

Iowa average corn yield in 2004 was 181 bu/acre (BPA), the highest ever recorded. Our assessment of current crop conditions and weather reports indicates that the 2009 corn yield can possibly be every bit as high

Take Note of Soil Temperature

Soil temperature is important in all seasons, but especially so in the spring as crop emergence takes center stage. Corn seed planted in soil at 50 degrees F requires about 21 days to emerge. Only seven days elapse from planting to emergence when the soil temperature is 70 degrees

Could 2010 Turn out Like 1983?

The two years 2010 and 1983 have a lot in common so far, at least at Ames, Iowa. I haven’t analyzed other locations, but Ames was not typical of the region either year. This year the growing degree day (GDD) accumulation has climbed from normal in mid-May to about 100 GDD above normal at the last week of June. In 1983 the GDD accumulation was about 200 GDD behind usual by mid-June then it rapidly increased to slightly above normal by mid-August

Crop and Weather Report – April 19, 2010

Crop planting is progressing rapidly in much, if not most, of the Corn Belt. Nineteen percent of Iowa’s expected corn acres were planted as of April 18. This is well ahead of the five-year average of 5 percent, which is where planting was in 2009 on this date. Most of the central production area is also progressing well. The USDA weekly “Crop Progress” report is searchable by state

La Nina Diminishes

The La Nina of the past several months as determined by the 90-day average Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) has ended. The SOI is a measure of the atmospheric pressure deviation from normal and directly influences meteorological conditions in numerous distant locations. The SOI diminished to 0.8 standard deviations on May 19, 2008