Not knowing what the weather will do is one of the great challenges when farming or ranching. While a producer can do everything within their power to ensure a successful crop, rain—or the lack of it—at inopportune times can spell disaster throughout the growing season.
Weather and what it may look like for the coming year is top of mind for Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc., as he and RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney discuss the long-range forecast at the Top Producer Summit at Kansas City, Missouri, this week.
Lerner says he’s optimistic that the eight-year drought in the southwestern Canadian prairies may finally be ending. The northern plains in Canada should also experience better weather, most likely in the spring, Lerner says. Eastern Canada, however, may be in for a more challenging spring with cyclical cold weather and some possible false starts for the wheat crop.
The forecast for the central part of the United States is not looking quite so optimistic says Lerner. With the cold and dry air coming in from Canada, places such as Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska are experiencing a lack of moisture. He goes on to say that the longer the northwesterly flow continues, the more likely those areas are to succumb to a dry spring.
Lerner and Haney also discuss the effects that La Niña could have if it continues, how a dry spring in the U.S. could end up impacting Canadian weather, and years prior with similar weather patterns. For more details on how these weather patterns could shape the growing season ahead, watch the full discussion below.
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