Farmers are getting ready and doing what they can, but it will still be a while before you see them planting this year’s crops in their fields. Farmers traded time in the fields for moisture last week after winter storms brought snow and rain to the area. That added some much-needed moisture to the fields, and the USDA reported last week that twenty-seven percent of the topsoil moisture was rated as very short (eight percent) or short (19 percent). Duane Ducat from Deer Run Dairy in southern Kewaunee County said moisture is just part of the equation. He said soil temperatures and the progress of cover crops are some of the other variables he is looking at before he begins planting seeds for his crops this year.
 

After a dry and mild winter, the Farmer’s Almanac warns that this summer will be the opposite. They predict the weather will be warmer than usual and pack a punch in the form of thunderstorms. Ducat subscribes to the “rain will bring grain” adage but says it is important that the added moisture comes at the right time.