mn-crop-weather State Minnesota Monthly Crop-Weather Released: February 2, 2009 Issue No: CW-05-09 COOPERATING WITH THE MN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE - CHANHASSEN MN, UNIV. OF MINN. EXTENSION SERVICE, DNR STATE CLIMATOLOGY OFFICE, USDA-FSA, AND USDA-NRCS The following comments are from Minnesota’s County Extension Educators, FSA (USDA - Farm Service Agency), and NRCS (USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service) Offices BECKER: January was extremely cold. Snow cover 2.5-3.0 feet. Livestock conditions are ok to date. Feed reserves seem to be sufficient. BENTON: Snow and cold continue to be challenging for people working with livestock. Feed resources are adequate. BROWN: A very cold January has put some pressure on feed supplies. Hay prices remain stable. Lots of talk about land rent, including reports of some farmers hoping to renegotiate land rent contracts. CROW WING: We still have lots of snow, about 28 inches. Feed availability looks good. I think the soil moisture has recharged pretty well. There is still 25-30 percent of the corn standing in the fields because of the late fall rains which kept farmers from harvesting and now the snow’s too deep. FILLMORE: Snow cover 1-2 feet with crust, except for ridge tops which have little cover. Frost up to 5 feet where exposed. Excellent soil moisture. HUBBARD: We continue to maintain 12-18 inches of snow cover. The frost depth is around 24-30 inches. Feed availability and livestock condition continues to be good. Moisture supply is excellent after last fall’s rain. Most producers are starting to plan for spring planting by checking fertilizer and fuel prices. JACKSON: Good snow cover on fields. The rest of January was cold and windy. Livestock are in good condition. Feed stocks are good, but usage of forage was higher than normal. Producers have been watching markets and fertilizer and seed prices. LAC QUI PARLE: For most of the month temperatures have been below average, with average snow depths ranging from 18 to 24 inches in the county. Livestock are doing well, but going through a lot of feed to make up for the colder than normal temperatures for the month. LINCOLN: About 14 inches average snow depth. Most of the snow is caught in the trees, drainage ditches, and road ditches. With lots of snow and wind, the trees are a good testament for CRP. Living snow fences in open areas this year. Lots of grain being delivered on contract or sold. Colder than normal weather this winter has taken more feed for sheep and cattle. MCLEOD: We have open fields in most areas of the county and drifts of 25-30 inches of snow in some places. Frost depth is roughly 51 inches. There seems to be adequate feed supplies. Some livestock operators have been complaining about the subzero temperatures and stated that their livestock are "barely putting on any weight". We were getting a lot of snow in December and early January but it has been 2-3 weeks since our last significant snowfall. We had a warm up this past weekend which melted a lot of the snow so we now have a lot of ice and ponded areas in fields. MAHNOMEN: January was extremely cold. Snow cover is 2.5-3.0 feet. Feed is plentiful. Cold winter has required higher energy. Cattle are in good condition. Concerns about how to handle the residue left in the fields. Producers are managing their grain bins as much of the crop was stored under less than ideal moisture levels. Producers are signing contracts for specialty dry beans, non-GMO soybeans and also some of the commodity crops. MARSHALL: Snow cover remains at 12 inches. The temperatures have been below normal for most of the month. The snow cover should prevent frost from going to abnormal depths. Any moisture received will be surplus as the soil profile was saturated at freeze up. MORRISON: Approximately 20 inches of snow cover so the alfalfa should be well insulated from the bitter cold temperatures we have received in January. Feed availability and livestock conditions seem to be quite good. Most farmers continue to wait for fertilizer prices to drop before purchasing. Most corn, soybean, and alfalfa seed has been purchased already to take advantage of the early order discounts. NICOLLET: Cold weather in January has added to livestock feed costs. Concern about coming year and fluctuating crop and input prices. NOBLES: Much snow cover throughout the county. Activities consist of keeping yards clean and some solid manure spreading in fields with less snow cover that can be reached. NORMAN: Snow cover good. Some combining of corn over the last month but snow depth and cold weather has limited that activity. Some grain storage problems due to wet corn. Went into the fall with excess moisture. Colder than normal winter. Producers are concerned about how to handle residue due to little fieldwork on the row crops. PENNINGTON: Plenty of snow and cold weather for January. Livestock and their feed supplies are suitable for now, but some concerns if the cold temperatures continue and if we have a late spring. Deep snow has added to problems with access for feeding livestock and also for livestock to move around. PINE: Good snow cover 15-20 inches. Moisture should be good for 2009. Frost 12 inches. Feed available but livestock just holding their own. No gain due to cold weather. Producer sign-up for 2009 program is slow. ROCK: Feed OK. Heard of some winter kill on alfalfa. Moderate temperatures this week to above normal average. ROSEAU: After record snowfall in December, the month of January has produced temperatures well below normal. The snow cover contains almost 3 inches of moisture. This, together with the saturated soil conditions that we had when the ground froze last fall, has many concerned about the possibility of flooding this spring. The harvesting of corn and sunflower fields that could not be completed last fall is progressing slowly. ST LOUIS: Snow cover is 18-24 inches, the fluffy type. No crusting yet. Feed availability and forages is great. There is hay for sale. Livestock conditions are fine. Most everything is OK. Calving will probably begin toward the end of February/March. WADENA: Lots of snow, 2 feet on average. Feed stocks seem to be holding out. Very cold temperatures have been hard on livestock and producers. A lot of producers are pre-buying fertilizer and seed. Thank you for your comments. PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY, 2009: Temperatures during December averaged from 5.8 degrees below normal in the Northwest District to 2.3 degrees below normal in the Southwest District. Temperature extremes included a low of -42 degrees at International Falls, and a high of 49 degrees at Forest Lake. Precipitation averaged from 0.51 inch below normal in the East Central District to -.09 inch below normal in the Southwest District. Greatest monthly precipitation of 1.13 inches was recorded in Marshall. Precipitation and Temperature Summary for January 2009 Temperature Precipitation High Low Month Dept. Month Dept. Ave for Total for Month Month NW DIST 1 Crookston 44 -35 -2.8 -6.6 .12 -.42 Moorhead 44 -30 1.8 -5.1 .61 -.15 Warroad 40 -41 -4.8 -5.8 .52 -.11 NC DIST 2 Grand Rapids 47 -31 2.9 -3.6 .65 -.36 Intl. Falls 42 -42 -3.4 -6.2 .86 .02 Itasca 44 -38 -.9 -3.8 .62 -.28 NE DIST 3 Duluth 42 -24 4.0 -4.4 .48 -.64 Grand Marais 33 -18 9.8 -4.1 .68 -.04 Hibbing 46 -40 -.9 -6.3 .40 -.39 WC DIST 4 Alexandria 44 -31 2.7 -5.3 .52 -.49 Browns Valley 45 -32 5.3 -4.5 .61 -.23 Canby 45 -23 9.4 -4.4 1.01 .13 Dalton 42 -33 1.5 -5.4 .58 -.41 Fergus Falls 40 -34 .2 -6.2 .67 -.32 Montevideo 45 -28 5.8 -4.2 .90 -.02 Morris 42 -31 2.0 -6.4 .61 -.24 CENT DIST 5 Becker 46 -27 4.0 -5.6 .81 -.05 Collegeville 45 -31 6.8 -4.3 .63 -.28 Hutchinson 42 -27 7.5 -2.6 .45 -.32 Melrose 43 -35 .7 -7.4 .49 -.39 Olivia 43 -29 5.2 -4.9 .72 .14 St. Cloud 45 -36 3.6 -5.3 .54 -.22 Staples 45 -37 -.3 -6.6 .49 -.46 Willmar 43 -28 4.6 -4.4 .68 -.14 EC DIST 6 Aitkin 46 -29 4.1 -3.0 .70 -.33 Forest Lake 49 -26 6.6 -3.8 .48 -.50 Hinckley 44 -36 -.2 -8.3 .41 -.62 MSP Airport 46 -22 8.6 -4.6 .57 -.47 St. Paul - UofM 46 -23 10.0 -4.8 .38 -.64 SW DIST 7 Lamberton 46 -27 9.0 -3.2 .30 -.35 Marshall 43 -27 9.6 -2.9 1.13 .31 Pipestone 42 -34 8.2 -3.1 .51 -.04 Redwood Falls 45 -25 10.0 -3.1 .56 -.14 Worthington 42 -26 9.8 -1.7 .52 -.18 SC DIST 8 Faribault 44 -29 6.8 -4.8 .79 -.26 Mankato 47 -24 8.4 -4.2 .63 -.43 Waseca 40 -26 6.6 -4.4 .64 -.73 Winnebago 43 -29 8.9 -3.4 .81 -.06 SE DIST 9 Preston 41 -35 6.6 -6.1 .67 -.33 Red Wing 46 -33 5.8 -6.2 .59 -.22 Rochester 39 -26 8.7 -3.1 .67 -.27 Rosemount 44 -28 5.6 -4.5 .72 -.50 Winona 42 -32 6.8 -7.0 .72 -.22 m=some data missing Contact Information USDA, NASS MINNESOTA FIELD OFFICE IN COOPERATION WITH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE- CHANHASSEN MN, UNIV. OF MINN. EXTENSION SERVICE, DNR STATE CLIMATOLOGY OFFICE, USDA-FSA, AND USDA-NRCS USDA-NASS MINNESOTA FIELD OFFICE Minnesota Department of Agriculture PO Box 7068, St. Paul, MN 55107 Phone: (651) 296-2230 E-mail: nass-mn@nass.usda.gov Homepage: http://www.nass.usda.gov/mn/