West Tennessee Grain Conference Scheduled for February 5

Jan 13, 2026

As row crop farmers prepare for the 2026 growing season, staying informed about production practices and market predictions is key to making successful farm management decisions. On February 5 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., University of Tennessee Extension will host the annual West Tennessee Grain and Soybean Producers Conference at the Dyer County Fairgrounds. This free event is open to the public, with registration beginning at 7:45 a.m.

Starting at 9 a.m., expert-led presentations will cover agronomic topics such as herbicide effectiveness, insect control, disease management and weather forecasts. Attendees will also learn about the impact of international trade and tariffs on the industry, as well as potential trends in global markets.

Jake McNeal, UT Extension corn and soybean specialist, says the goal of this meeting is to share expertise from academia and the private sector for the benefit of producers in Tennessee and beyond. “Both 2024 and 2025 threw us a curveball regarding weather, specifically less-than-adequate rainfall. High input costs and volatility in the commodities market have further jeopardized profitability. We want to ensure producers obtain information that will benefit their operations as they move into 2026.”

Throughout the day, attendees can network with fellow producers, in addition to researchers, Extension specialists, county Extension agents and more. Beginning at 8 a.m., the conference’s trade show, one of the largest in West Tennessee, will feature industry professionals from across the region sharing the latest technological and agricultural developments. A complimentary lunch will also be served at 12:10 p.m.

Source : tennessee.edu

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.