Agriculture

Excessive rainfall during May has started to improve drought conditions in areas of the Great Plains.   Southwest Nebraska farmer Mike Baker says more than 8 inches of rain has fallen since midnight Friday and will delay planting well into June. “This is much better than having the dirt blow because we’ve had that the last two years where we’ve had dirt storms roll through. If we have to sit […]

As high pressure shifts eastward, a Midwestern and Northeastern warming trend will commence during the Memorial Day weekend, although mostly dry weather will persist. Farther south, however, a low-pressure system is expected to move inland during the weekend across the Carolinas, leading to potentially heavy rain.  Southern Atlantic totals could reach 1 to 3 inches as far north as southern Virginia, with much higher amounts possible in the coastal Carolinas.  […]

Across the Corn Belt, scattered frost was noted Friday morning in the upper Great Lakes region and parts of Michigan.  Throughout the region, cool, dry weather favors planting of any remaining corn and soybean acreage.  However, topsoil moisture shortages are becoming more apparent.  According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, the portion of the nine-state Midwestern region experiencing abnormal dryness or drought increased from 22 to 27% between May 16 […]

The president of Missouri Farm Bureau says he is watching the next steps from the Environmental Protection Agency following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Waters of the United States. In Sackett vs. EPA, the justices unanimously reversed and remanded a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals requiring the Sacketts to have a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to build a house next to an […]

Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for the likelihood of near- or above-normal temperatures and precipitation across most of the country.  Cooler-than-normal conditions should be confined to an area stretching from southern California to the southern High Plains. Meanwhile drier-than-normal weather should be limited to western Washington and an area stretching from the Great Lakes region to New England. ...

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued its ruling on Sackett vs. EPA and a Minnesota ag lawyer says the decision provides more clarity on the Clean Water Act. Kale Van Bruggen with the Rinke-Noonan Law Firm tells Brownfield the ruling defined adjacent wetlands, an area of concern for farmers and ranchers. “This court ruling is similar to a case ruling from 2008 that says when it comes to adjacent wetlands, […]