Holding Soil Moisture

By James Hoorman, Hoorman Soil Health Services

Farmers are finally getting moisture; rain, snow, and even ice.  Recent rains followed by colder temperatures have restored some soil moisture.  The slow steady rains have soaked in rather than running off.  Waterways finally filled up with water; but it took a long time. That is both good news for future crops planted next year, but also for water quality.  Slow steady rains release much less nutrients into our waterways than fast hard driving rainfall events. 

Farmers do not know what the weather will be like this next year but hotter and drier summers are expected.  Rain in summer generally makes grain, as long as it comes in moderation.  An inch of fully used rainfall generally results in a minimum of 8-bushel corn, 3.5-bushel soybeans, and 6-bushel wheat.  However, if moisture occurs when corn is tasseling (mid-July), soybeans are blooming (late July through mid-August) or wheat starting to bloom (mid-May to early June) expect higher yields. … Continue reading