(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
This story was originally published by Iowa Capital Dispatch and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Amid drought, El Niño has arrived [1]
['Jared Strong', 'More From Author', '- June']
Date: 2023-06-12
The Pacific Ocean near the equator has warmed sufficiently to reach El Niño status, with hopes the weather pattern change will eventually help lift Iowa from its longstanding drought, according to the National Weather Service.
Dry conditions have expanded in recent weeks. Almost all of Iowa is abnormally dry, and 43% of the state is suffering from drought of varying degrees, the U.S. Drought Monitor recently reported. As a whole, Iowa is drier than it’s been in four months.
But that is expected to change.
“It’s looking like after this week we’ll start to see a shift out of the stagnant conditions that we’ve been in — stagnant meaning below average rainfall, slightly warmer temperatures,” State Climatologist Justin Glisan said.
Crop conditions suffered last week, which was about one degree above normal but had slightly less than half of the typically expected rainfall, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report on Monday.
About 70% of the state’s corn crop and about 66% of soybeans were rated good or excellent in the USDA report. Those represent declines of 2 and 4 percentage points.
“Though the more seasonal temperatures have helped alleviate some moisture stress in both corn and soybeans, we are now in an ‘El Niño Advisory’ and outlooks thankfully indicate more rainfall chances through the end of the month,” said Mike Naig, the state’s agriculture secretary.
The amount of available moisture in the soil for growing crops diminished last week. About 40% of the state’s topsoil has adequate or surplus moisture.
That is less than half the amount of topsoil that had sufficient moisture for crops compared with last year. The situation is similar for subsoil, which buffered the drought last year and helped sustain the growing crops. Corn roots can go four or more feet deep.
“I think a key difference between this year and last year is that we had more subsoil moisture to start the season,” said Aaron Saeugling, an Iowa State University Extension field agronomist who monitors the southwest part of the state. “That, for me, is the key difference. Eventually, we’re going to need some measurable precipitation once we get into the tasseling stage.”
The western part of Iowa has the driest conditions in the state, especially near the border, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. There are also wide pockets of drought in northeast and southeast Iowa.
Saeugling said some of the corn leaves in his area have been “rolling” during the hottest part of the day — an indication that the plants don’t have enough water. That leaf-curling phenomenon has the effect of lessening the corn’s exposure to the sun and diminishes its water loss.
He also said rivers and creeks are lower than he’s ever seen, which exemplifies the lack of soil moisture. Meaghan Anderson, an Extension field agronomist in central Iowa, has noticed the same problem.
“I’ve heard a lot of, ‘Oh, this creek is low. I’ve never seen it this low,’ or, ‘This tile line is dry, and I’ve never seen this tile line stop running before,’” Anderson said. “It’s absolutely a concern.”
Despite the dryness of the last few years, corn yields were among the best they’ve ever been. Past years’ crops were aided by timely rainfalls amid the ongoing droughts.
“I think a lot of central Iowa farmers would look back at the last few years and say, ‘Wow, we really skated through that, just about perfect,’” Anderson said. “This may be the year that it gets us, but I’ll guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/06/12/amid-drought-el-nino-has-arrived/
Published and (C) by Iowa Capital Dispatch
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND-NC 4.0.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/iowacapitaldispatch/
