As the year comes to an end, you’ll find that many farmers are more than happy to say their goodbyes to the weather woes of 2019. Unfortunately, the impacts of this growing season’s less-than-ideal climate will carry through to 2020—and maybe even beyond.
Farmers in 2019 were hit with heavy rainfall and flooding throughout spring and summer.
This growing season was the wettest on record for many Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic states. Between May 1st, 2018 and April 30th, 2019, the continental U.S. experienced an average of 36.2 inches of rainfall—that’s 6.25 inches above normal!
Record rainfall resulted in oversaturated soil that delayed planting season for many crops.
Because most fields were too waterlogged to plant at the beginning of the typical planting season, many acres went barren. A shorter growing season combined with fewer crops planted (especially staple crops like corn and soybeans) left farmers with poor harvest yields for the year and significantly reduced profits.
The effects of the extreme 2019 weather will continue to be felt in the 2020 agricultural industry.
Unfortunately for farmers, it may take years and several optimal growing seasons to repair the damage done to soil and growing conditions this year. Heavy equipment tracking on oversaturated fields caused compaction that will decrease the ability of next year’s soil to hold onto nutrients and transport water to roots.
Excessive flooding experienced in 2019 will also affect the 2020 weed population and limit farmers’ ability to control their growth. Flooding has deposited weed seeds in new locations that have never had to deal with those species and are not equipped to eliminate them effectively. Additionally, the delayed growing season also caused a delay in weed treatment this year, allowing them to grow taller than usual and build more resistance to traditional herbicides.
Farmers going into the new year must be prepared with the right strategy and top equipment for tackling the issues 2019 weather conditions have left in their wake.
At L&M Manufacturing, we offer farmers the quality agriculture and irrigation products they need to manage anything the season may bring. For more information on our state-of-the-art equipment and to find the products you need, give us a call at 800-676-3747 today!
