Spring forage planting in the Upper Midwest may be complicated by freeze-thaw cycles and forecasts for above‑normal precipitation. Even so, timely decisions and attention to field conditions can help growers establish strong stands.

How are you going to assess pasture conditions going forward?

As Canadians shed their coats from a moderate winter season, the results are portending a drier and hotter weather trend going into spring and summer, especially in the western provinces.

“Where’s my El Nino?”
That’s the question many farmers and ranchers have been asking over the past year, and the answer is one many might not want to hear: El Nino is here, but it’s already on its way out the door.

The three-year lament appears to be ending as readings in the Pacific Ocean portend warming waters in 2023. El Nino weather patterns, when warming Pacific waters create moisture in much of the West and Midwest states, have been missing since 2019. La Nina, the uglier twin sibling of El Nino, where colder ocean temperatures lead to warmer and less water, has hung around since then worsened the Western drought.