Mild winter could effect pest control, experts project higher spring temps than normal

The mild weather southeast Iowa has been experiencing is a good sign that spring is on its way. In an agriculture community, it also signals that planting season is just around the corner.

As for how the weather will look in the next few months, Rebecca Vittetoe, Field Agronomist at Iowa State Extension and Outreach Reach, said the experts are not certain. For the one-month outlook, temperatures are predicted to be higher than normal and the precipitation percentage has an equal chance of being wet or dry.

'Basically that tells us they aren't quite sure,” she said.

From a farming perspective, Vittetoe said getting crops out of the fields last fall was a struggle because of wet conditions. If the area experiences a wet spring, this could cause a delay in getting crops in the ground.

'We had fairly wet soil conditions going into the winter so that's one thing we are keeping our eye on is the moisture in the soil and how much more it can hold,” she said.

Snow cover in southeast Iowa is sparse, she said, but in areas such as Minnesota and Wisconsin where there is significant snow pack, experts will be watching for how quickly the snow will melt to prevent potential flooding. This will also affect those along the Mississippi River, she said.

The milder winter has lent way to this not being an issue locally, but one question Vittetoe said she gets from farmers often is how the milder temps will affect pest control.

'One of the nice things about this winter is it helps to control some pest issues, particularly insects,” she said, commenting that the fluctuating temperatures, with extreme cold weather one day and milder temps the next could affect what pests survived the winter and will be active in spring.

'Some of those extremes that could potentially be hard on those insect populations especially if they're right at the soil surface. In that regard, compared to if the temperatures were just cold, that might have been even harder on some of those pests,” she said.

The wet soil conditions can also make it harder for those insects to survive, she said. For farmers who are looking to plant in April and May, Vittetoe said the weather for the next month will be the biggest factor.

There will be a shorter window to get things done this year due to farmers not being able to get fall field work done until later, but she is not concerned.

'I'm not feeling that we're as far behind because some of that stuff was able to get done last fall or if it was decent out during the winter, people were able to get fertilizer put on that they did not right after harvest,” she said.

Ideal conditions are based on calendar dates and actual field conditions. For corn, crop insurance begins April 11, but soil temp is also taken into consideration, she said.

At the four inch depth, soil temps would ideally be 50 degrees or warmer to allow the seed to germinate. If it is colder than that, the seed will not grow and will be more prone to diseases, she said.

Vittetoe said as far as soil erosion goes, that is no more of a concern this year than it has been in the past. Anytime there hare heavy rains there is potential but due to planting of cover crops last fall there is not as big of a concern as years past.

As farmers look forward to getting out in the field, Vittetoe would like to give one last reminder to drivers to pay attention to the roads and look out for equipment on the roads to prevent accidents.

'They might be going slow, but just be aware of where they might be turning because it's never fun when you hear those stories of accidents,” she said.