“Some got it, some didn’t, and some got too much.”
That’s how Purdue Extension Corn Specialist Dan Quinn describes the rains that hit Indiana over the past 10-14 days. Weather continues to be the story around Indiana for both corn and soybean crops.
Indiana State Climatologist Beth Hall joined us on the latest Purdue Crop Chat Podcast (found now at hoosieragtoday.com) to discuss the big swings we’ve seen in the weather just the past couple of weeks.
“The northeastern part of the state seems to be getting soaked and then there’s this strange band of precipitation that’s going to the southern part of the state. So, we no longer have this general blob that’s coming in and it’s making it really challenging. We’re trying to figure out where the line is because we’re seeing extreme differences in precipitation within single counties. So, you can’t even drop one county into this category and another county into the next.”
Hall blames that on the above normal temperatures we’ve been seeing this season.
“The fact that we’re seeing a lot more of these pop-up thunderstorms as opposed to these large Iowa-sized complexes coming through is what’s making it one side of the street versus the other. And how do you prepare for that? I mean, this could really even get down to the sub field scale where part of the field is getting it, but I think it is the increased temperatures. How much moisture those warm temperatures can hold.”
Hall expects those above normal temperatures to continue. Tune in to the Purdue Crop Chat Podcast to hear more from Hall, Quinn, and Extension soybean specialist Shaun Casteel as they discuss the upcoming weather outlook and what it means for corn and soybeans. You can find it below and wherever you listen to podcasts.
