Minnesota’s soil moisture sets stage for good growing season
Written by Jonathan Eisenthal
The right combination of climate factors has recharged the moisture in drought-parched soils across Minnesota.
Lack of measurable soil moisture at harvest time last year left many Minnesota farmers uncertain whether there would be adequate moisture for the germination of this year’s crops, but those worries have dissipated.
The most recent USDA report estimates that two-thirds of the state has adequate topsoil moisture, a quarter has surplus moisture, and less than 10 percent has short or very short moisture
“Soil moisture has changed in a big way,” reported Pete Boulay, assistant state climatologist at the Minnesota State Climate Office. “Not only in Minnesota, but also in South Dakota and Wisconsin as well. It looks like a sizeable fraction of the snowmelt percolated down into the soil. The old rule of thumb is that you see between 5 and 50 percent of that water getting into the soil profile, in terms of storage efficiency, and I think we are up toward that 50 percent. We did really well.”
The critical factor, he said, was that the frost was out of the soil in a timely way, which allowed much of the moisture from the snowmelt to penetrate the soil profile. Many years, when snowmelt occurs rapidly, frozen soil means that more of the melting snow turns into runoff, enters surface waters, and contributes to flooding. Though areas of Minnesota have seen some flooding this year, it could have been far worse, and the flood waters have crested, Boulay reported.
Boulay noted the extraordinary soil moisture recharge seen at the University of Minnesota Southwest Outreach and Research Center in Lamberton.
“They saw a three-inch increase in the soil moisture in the profile from the fall to the spring, which is about as high as I’ve ever seen,” Boulay said. “The last time we had two-, two-and-a-half inches recovery was 2015-16. It’s pretty impressive.”
He said these results couldn’t be extrapolated across every part of the state, but they indicate the generally positive soil moisture situation. This is a great relief because harvest season 2022 represented the end of a second consecutive year of drought conditions.
“We were able to replenish soil moisture and we really knocked back that drought,” Boulay said. “The big change there. As of January 1, we still had still had 45 percent of the state in moderate drought, and now we have just 1 percent of the state in moderate drought, just along the Iowa border, in Nobles, Jackson, and Martin counties.”
With the soil moisture challenge in the rearview, for now, Minnesota farmers face a new challenge brought by the cool temperatures and periodic rains which have delayed planting. Typically, almost a quarter of the state’s corn acres would be planted by May 1, but this year only 5 percent of the planned corn acres have been planted, according to the USDA. Soil temperatures are rising, but in many places remain below the 50 degrees threshold recommended for planting.
[More: View the six-inch soil temperature in your area]
