AG Weather Impacts

AG Weather Impacts

The high pressure ridge that brought much above normal temperatures the last few days has moved to the east. Even though April ended up being a wet month overall, This unusual dry spell has lasted 3 weeks. Now look for a a big change in the weather pattern to hit the Columbia Basin this week and a cold front this afternoon will start the ball rolling. Scattered showers tonight will become more numerous Wednesday into Friday and even isolated thunderstorms are possible Wednesday night into Thursday night, especially southeast of Heppner to Dayton. After a lull in the rain on Saturday, more showers are possible Sunday through Tuesday. Most farms and should get ½ to 1 inch of rainfall by this time next week with heavier rainfall near the Blue Mountains. This will certainly help to replenish top soils moisture lost in the last month of dry conditions. Many areas should be able to dial back on irrigation this next week as crop water needs will fall to ¾ inch to 1 inch. While this is mostly good, the big negative for this wet pattern is damage to hay that is not cured and baled today. Additional hay cutting will be subject to poor drying and rain damage through early next week. Also, this upcoming extended cloudy, high humidity, and showery period may promote foliar diseases on some crops, so field scouting may needed. Spraying conditions will be hampered by washoff risk. The cooler conditions, though should be helpful for Canola.
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