MINNESOTA AG NEWS MONTHLY CROP-WEATHER Released: FEBRUARY 4, 2008 Issue No. CW-05-08 USDA, NASS, Minnesota Field Office MN Dept. Of Agriculture P.O. Box 7068 St Paul, MN 55107 Phone: (651)296-2230 E-Mail: nass-mn@nass.usda.gov Homepage:http://www.nass.usda.gov/m/ 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 The following comments are from Minnesota’s County Extension Educators, FSA (USDA - Farm Service Agency), and NRCS (USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service) Offices BELTRAMI: We received less than 5 inches of snow in January with very little moisture content. Some farmers are concerned with feed availability. Some have sold or reduced herd size. BROWN: Several snowfalls occurred in January, but only dusted the area. Feed is available but costly. There have been many days of frigid temperatures, but not much wind helps relieve the situation. Moisture supply is adequate at present. 2008 commodities are being marketed. CROW WING: We haven't had much snow in January. Luckily there is snow cover on everything from earlier snows. Farmers are trying to keep their hay supplies up. Those who have hay are watching it carefully and those who do not are always searching for good hay at a decent price. Some is coming from out west and some from Canada. Livestock are still looking pretty darn good though. We've had 2 bitterly windy cold days this week and a cold snap last week but nothing unusual for January. Farmers tend to go to meetings at this time of year. FAIRIBAULT: As of Feb 4 frost depth in Faribault County has reached 15.75 inches and continues to build. Livestock producers are hopeful this week brings a needed break from the bitter cold. Feed availability and livestock condition remains good. There is approx. 7-8 inches of snow cover. FILLMORE: Have had a small amount of rain which has depleted the snow cover to approximately 3-4 inches. Not much frost but is soaking in and not running off. Moisture supplies should be good. Some producers are buying hay and livestock condition is good. GOODHUE: Snow cover is 6 inches. Feed availability is good. Livestock condition is good. Moisture is adequate. HUBBARD: Very little additional snow has been received so the snow depth has diminished to around 6 - 8 inches. Frost depth is maintaining in the 2 to 3 foot range. Livestock conditions are generally good with somewhat of a shortage of hay in the area due to dry summer conditions. ITASCA: Cold temperatures persisted through most of the month. There was little change in snow cover throughout the month. Hay prices are high. Cattle are in good condition. JACKSON: Snow cover is about 4 inches in open areas. It rained for part of the day on the 28th. Hay supplies are getting tighter with unheard of prices. KANABEC: Very cold weather has frozen up a number of all season water troughs. Hay consumption increased with the cold weather. Livestock condition is adequate but hay is in short supply. KITTSON: Current snow cover is below average. Stubble and dirt can be seen in wind blown fields. Feed stocks adequate and livestock conditions are good. Annual crop improvement association meeting conducted last week. Attendance was very good. Producers meeting with lenders, preparing 2008 cash flows. Even with strong markets, crop inputs have increased significantly requiring close monitoring to maintain positive margins. LINCOLN: Not much snow in the fields. Cattle are in good condition. Hay supplies are normal to good. Some are selling hay, others are buying hay. Some are planning grain storage needs for future years. MAHNOMEN: Producers are hauling grain when weather warms up. Some are still deciding on final planting plans dependent on crop price movement. Snow cover looks okay for alfalfa. Temperatures with wind chills were below -30 degrees. Cattlemen are using more feed because of the cold winter. Not a lot of extra hay in our area, but most have adequate supplies. MARTIN: Warming temperatures over the past weekend, followed by very cold conditions the last few days of January reduced snow cover to approximately 3 inches. Moisture supplies are good, and depth of frost is about 2.5 to 3 feet. MORRISON: Very cold conditions with wind chills reduced livestock performance and health. Feed availability is getting more scarce and expensive. Approximately 4 to 5 inches of snow cover remains. Most farmers have seed, fertilizer and herbicide purchased already to take advantage of the discounts. NICOLLET: As of January 30, 2008 very little snow cover. Frost is down deep. Feed and hay availability good but hay prices at record highs. Land rent continues as hot topic. OLMSTED: We are slowed down by a blizzard this week. We have a good foot or more of snow everywhere. Alfalfa crop is well covered and protected from freezing. Frost is down at least 4 feet. Currently working on machinery and renewing pesticide application license. I have attended several marketing meetings. Farmers are indeed projecting a great year. OTTERTAIL: One foot snow cover. Frost has penetrated 3 ˝ feet. Not much local hay for sale. Livestock are looking fine. Lots of booking days are coming. Deer are herded up and attacking hay where stored in fields. PINE: Frost depth= 3-5" in fields; snow cover= 4-6". Hay supplies are short and difficult to obtain. Livestock and crop disaster signup is underway. Farmers are trying to arrange seed, fertilizer and rent agreements. POLK: Snow cover is marginal for alfalfa and winter wheat. Feed availability adequate. Cattle are in good shape. Temperatures have been very cold, 30-50 below zero with the wind chill many nights. The day time temperatures have not been much higher. There is a fair amount of snow on the ground and it covers well. Feed is available, but can take some searching. There is not an overabundance. If livestock can stay warm they do fine. Water supply is fine as long as you can keep the pipes from freezing. Sugarbeet and potato processing continue steadily with spurts of wheat, corn, and soybean hauling whenever the co-op or terminals get unit trains. ROSEAU: Temperatures have come back down to normal after having been above normal for the first half of January. The snow cover is less than normal. Livestock condition is excellent, although feed supplies are declining. Producer attendance at winter meetings has been very good. SIBLEY: Most operations are doing fine. Cold weather last two weeks made conditions hard on livestock and man. Snow cover about 6 inches in most areas very little new snow less then 2 inches. Frost varies depending on snow cover from 18" (protected) to 4 feet (unprotected). ST LOUIS: Plenty of snow depth to date, and thus limited or shallow frost. Hay and forage supplies holding up to date. Most hay supplies that are for sale have been sold out. Livestock are holding up well. STEARNS: Cold weather in January placed stress on livestock outside. Feed supplies remain stable. Snow cover has been reduced; bare spots showing in most fields. January was very dry with less than 0.1 inch of liquid precipitation. Early December snow was doing a good job of covering fields through most of January, but now hillsides and knolls are turning black. Dairy farmers are able to haul manure everywhere. February’s 1st snow cover: 2-3 inches. STEELE: Eight to ten inches of snow as of January 25th. Temperatures have been cold for over a week but are warming up a bit. Feed supplies seem adequate and livestock are doing well. Land rents and land values along with input costs are the topics of discussion. STEVENS: Little to no snowfall for January. There is still a snow cover on the ground. WABASHA: Livestock conditions are good. Cold temperatures and blizzard conditions have been tough on outdoor livestock. Snow cover varies from 6 to 12 inches. Moisture levels are good. WATONWAN: Some grain being delivered to local elevators; otherwise not much is going on. Lost most of our snow cover during the warm up last weekend. WINONA: It is cold, snow every few days, guess that is winter in MN. Frost depth is at least 12 inches. Most farmers are setting up their herbicide/seed/fertilizer plans for spring. Some have gone south for the winter as well. Thank you for your comments! PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY, 2008: Temperatures during January averaged from 1.1 degrees below normal in the Southwest District to 2.2 degrees above normal in the North Central District. Temperature extremes included a low of -32 degrees at Intl. Falls, and a high of 57 degrees at Canby. Precipitation averaged from 0.91 inch below normal in the East Central District to 0.23 inch below normal in the Southeast District. Greatest monthly precipitation of 1.55 inches was recorded in Grand Marais. Precipitation and Temperature Summary for January 2008 Temperature Precipitation High Low Month Dept. Month Dept. Ave for Total for Month Month NW DIST 1 Crookston 39 -24 4.1 .3 .07 -.47 Moorhead 38 -25 6.4 -.4 .09 -.67 Warroad 41 -24 5.2 3.2 .32 -.31 NC DIST 2 Grand Rapids 48 -25 8.8 2.4 .17 -.84 Intl. Falls 41 -32 5.0 2.3 .19 -.65 Itasca 42 -26 4.8 1.9 .05 -.85 NE DIST 3 Duluth 41 -21 10.0 1.6 .13 -.99 Grand Marais 40 -18 16.6 2.7 1.55 .83 Hibbing 42 -31 6.4 1.1 .09 -.70 WC DIST 4 Alexandria 41 -23 7.1 -.8 .03 -.98 Browns Valley 45 -22 9.2 -.5 .02 -.82 Canby 57 -12 12.8 -.9 .01 -.87 Fergus Falls 42 -25 6.0 -.4 .06 -.93 Montevideo 42 -20 10.0 .0 .02 -.89 Morris 40 -24 5.8 -2.6 .05 -.80 CENT 5 Becker 44 -20 9.0 1.0 .21 -.65 Collegeville 48 -19 12.1 1.1 .02 -.89 Hutchinson 41 -18 11.0 1.0 .30 -.47 Olivia 44 -17 9.3 -.8 .14 -.44 St. Cloud 42 -24 9.3 .5 .17 -.59 Staples 43 -26 6.3 .8 .01 -.94 Willmar 43 -18 8.6 -.3 .06 -.76 EC DIST 6 Aitkin 45 -22 8.5 1.5 .18 -.85 Forest Lake 48 -18 12.4 2.0 .05 -.93 MSP Airport 43 -15 13.2 .1 .15 -.89 St. Paul - UofM 44 -15 14.6 -.2 .06 -.96 SW DIST 7 Lamberton 44 -15 11.4 -.7 .16 -.49 Pipestone 39 -20 8.7 -2.5 .18 -.37 Redwood Falls 42 -15 11.4 -1.6 .06 -.64 Worthington 41 -16 11.2 -.2 .36 -.34 SC DIST 8 Faribault 43 -22 11.2 -.4 .36 -.69 Mankato 44 -21 10.8 -1.7 .30 -.77 Waseca 41 -22 10.9 -.1 .36 -1.02 Winnebago 41 -17 12.0 -.2 .37 -.51 SE DIST 9 Preston 44 -27 12.0 -.7 .78 -.23 Red Wing 44 -21 12.2 .2 .20 -.61 Rochester 41 -19 13.4 1.6 .67 -.27 Rosemount 40 -18 11.0 .9 .30 -.92 Winona 48 -21 13.6 -2.1 1.45 .51 m=some data missing