Fieldwork is going to be very slow to get started in the mid-South and Midwest with the cool wet weather this week and more precipitation expected over the next two weeks. While the delayed planting is a problem, there is potential for an even bigger problem.
"Perhaps the gravest concern would be seeing something like we saw in 1983 or 1995," says USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.
During those years, which were also La Nina years as is this one, wet weather stopped and shifted to very hot dry conditions for a long time.
"That does raise concerns about poor root establishment and shallow root systems," Rippey says. "That makes the plants especially vulnerable to hot, dry weather later in the growing season."
Although Rippey is not predicting that yet, it has happened in years with a similar pattern of what has been seen this year.
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