Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

. Just when field work is ramping into high gear, it looks like rain this weekend and early next week will cause some delays. Multiple disturbances will be moving across the Inland Northwest and bring numerous showers mainly today, Sunday and Tuesday. Plan on rainfall amounts of ¼ to ½ inch in the lower elevations with ½ to 1 inch closer to the Blue Mountains and Cascades. The moisture will help work nutrients from recently top dressed wheat into the root zone and also refresh topsoil moisture where it has been rather dry for the past couple weeks. Spraying conditions will be hampered by the washoff risk and frequent breezy winds over the next 7 days. The winds though may help to dry leaves and decrease the threat of foliar diseases. Soil temperatures at the 2 inch depth are currently in the mid and upper 50s where the soils are dried out, but still hanging back in the upper 40s and lower 50s in the more moist soils. Soils should maintain this warmth into early next week, but then cooler air with the rain on Tuesday will drop temperatures 2 to 4 degrees the latter part of next week. This is still quite favorable for germination of wheat, peas, and potatoes and other cool season vegetables, but marginal to unfavorable for corn and warm season crops. The cooler temperatures late next week may be near the critical threshold for fruit and vine crops, so growers will need to stay updated on later forecasts.
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