News

Tale of extremes for farmers

An ag meteorologist says this year’s growing season has been a tale of two extremes for many parts of the Midwest.

Jeff Andresen with Michigan State University says catastrophic damage has been reported after last week’s massive rain storms in the Upper Midwest reached record levels.  “Especially across portions of Northern Wisconsin into the western Upper Peninsula—some of the rainfall up here totals exceeding four, five, even six inches.”  At the same time, Andresen says Michigan’s Thumb is much drier than normal but has not hit drought conditions yet.

 Several states in the in the Great Plains are currently experiencing drought conditions including Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa.

Andresen expects warmer temperatures and more precipitation ahead into the first week of July.

He says an El Nino could start by the fall which would bring a mild and drier than normal winter for the Great Lakes

AUDIO: Jeff Andresen’s comments during MSU’s weekly virtual breakfast