News

Too early to discuss first freeze timing

The director of USDA’s Midwest Climate Hub, Dennis Todey, says it’s too early to make any predictions on the potential for an early freeze this fall.

“We’re too early to assess well when we can be expecting frost/freeze conditions for the fall,” Todey says. “But the situation we are watching closely and I’m most concerned about is, can we get enough degree days behind—especially the corn crop—to get it to maturity.”

Todey tells Brownfield the August outlook is for cooler-than-average temperatures across much of the Northern Plains and Midwest.

As for precipitation, he says dry areas of the Eastern Corn Belt may continue that way.

“The drier-than-average prediction for August will present some more problems. Because in addition to being delayed-planted starting off the year, now we’re adding some stress during when they’re finally tasseling and getting to grain fill. So we’re hitting some problems that way.”

Todey says the Plains states could be wetter-than-normal in August.