This, as you all know, has been a challenging spring with the wet cold weather. In fact, it’s the 5th wettest spring on record! You may also recall that our agency forecast was for a cool wet spring (just not this extreme of course). We just got our updated forecast and June appears to be average temps and average precipitation, there is a lot of data in the forecast that shows a hot and dry July and August. Time will tell of course, my grandfather always said, “You can always see it afterwards.”
There have been a lot of suggestions and proposals put forth by grower groups, agents, and individual farmers to help with the planting conditions. I have been leading the charge for the late plant period penalties to be eliminated and backfilled by FSA (similar to the pp top up years ago). My last conference call was last Friday with the signors of this letter to Secretary Vilsack. It is a great honor to work with Senator Hoeven and to have the trust of his office. Although there is no guarantee Secretary Vilsack acts on the recommendations from the legislatures, I am proud to be part of the process. Click here for letter
In preparation for a cool wet spring the office has been diligently preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Although, we did not anticipate this kind of wet across the state we are certainly prepared for it.
We are still hoping for the best and will update you on any developments. Communication is key in these times so be sure to reach out to your agent with any questions.
