News

Wet conditions slow harvest, but drier conditions in the forecast

A meteorologist with Indiana-based BAM Weather says excessively wet conditions have slowed harvest for many farmers in the corn belt.

And Michael Clark says rainfall will continue in many areas over the next week.

“There are currently flash flood watches from Texas all the way up through Minnesota, throughout the spine of the country,” he says. “And that’s going to continue for the next couple of days bringing heavy rainfall to the area and multiple rounds of storms.”

He tells Brownfield farmers in parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Illinois have been hit the hardest.

But, Clark says drier conditions are expected through early November.

“The issue is that it’s going to be colder so it’s going to be harder to dry up the fields faster, but at least the rainfall forecast looks to drastically subside,” he says. “Then I think we work into a favorable drier pattern to set up a good 3-4 week window to get out there and get some work done.”

Clark says farmers should also anticipate cooler than normal temperatures.

Audio: Michael Clark, BamWX.com