Weekly Weather and Crop Update

This last week the Southern Research and Outreach Center at Waseca saw the longest stretch of dry weather and then the largest single rain event of the growing season. There was seven days of no rain and then there was a 2.05 inch rain. That was .99 inches above normal. There were a lot of farms that received rain events of a lot more than 2 inches and sometimes a couple days in a row!

Temperatures last week averaged 72.2 degrees and that was 1.1 degrees above normal. That is just what we needed to help us catch up on growing degree units. We accumulated 155.5 growing degree units last week and that was 7 percent more than normal. Since the first of May we have accumulated 1614.5 growing degree units. We are now only 3 percent below normal. Last year at this time we had accumulated 1860 growing degree units.

Even though we are behind last year and behind normal we are slowly catching up. We do not want temperatures as hot as the week of the Rice County Fair but just 2 or 3 degrees above normal. Plus about an inch of rain each week and sunny skies about 6 days a week. I know I am asking for a lot but maybe we will catch a break and get lucky?