By Hans Schmitz, Technical Assistance Specialist
Indiana Ag Nutrient Alliance
Now that the coldest weather seems to be behind us, at least for a short while, the state of Indiana has thawed out. Except for the furthest north portions of the state, snow is gone, and soil temperatures are above the freezing mark. These conditions have a lot of implications out in the field. Let’s explore a few.
Drought may be persisting in much of northern Indiana, but streamflows have recovered slightly as the last of the snow melted. With soil temperatures above freezing, some fields may be inaccessible where topsoil moisture still exists. As air temperatures fluctuate daily between the 40s and the 20s, some frost heaving potential exists. Heaving refers to young, shallow rooted plants being forced up and out of the ground with freeze and thaw cycles. Meanwhile, cool season grasses and winter wheat have begun to green back up, as photosynthesis in these plants can occur anytime the temperature is above freezing. Topdressing nitrogen in winter wheat has been occurring in many areas of the state where snow melted and topsoils quickly dried.
With the lack of snowpack and lingering abnormally dry to extreme drought conditions, the transition to warmer temperatures at the end of the week increases evapotranspiration where plants are actively growing and may lead to increased drought concerns.
If you have a drought impact report to submit, please do so here: https://droughtreporter.unl.edu/submitreport/. These reports are accessed by authors of the U.S. Drought Monitor, whose designations have a real effect on agricultural emergency declarations, providing offers of federal program relief or emergency loans to certain producers.