Hay growers in the Upper Midwest can expect relatively tame weather during the 2014 growing season, says Elwynn Taylor, climatologist with Iowa State University Extension.
“The way things are shaping up, the weather should be slightly on the favorable side for both forage and row crops in this part of the country this summer,” he adds.
While a cooler-than-normal spring has set back corn and soybean planting in many parts of the region, the alfalfa crop appears to be in decent shape. “Corn begins to grow at 50 degrees,” says Taylor. “But alfalfa can grow once the temperature reaches 35 degrees. In most parts of the Midwest, there has been some growth.”
This spring’s ample precipitation has also benefitted forage crops. “There are a few dry areas, but in most of Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, along with the southern quarter of Minnesota, we’ve seen normal to above precipitation for May.”
The absence of a strong La Niña weather pattern heading into the season is a key factor in Taylor’s growing-season outlook. “That’s a great relief,” he says. A La Niña, characterized by lower-than-normal surface-water temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean, typically brings dry weather.
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