Most crops expected to pull through upcoming freeze

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Most crops expected to pull through upcoming freeze

An ag meteorologist says most crops should experience little harm from colder temperatures in the coming days.

Dennis Toddey is Director of the USDA’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, Iowa. He tells Brownfield temperatures could fall below freezing in the northern parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan but luckily, not many crops have emerged there.

“Those areas probably are not too bad because it’s a little bit cold this time of year that they probably haven’t progressed enough to be a problem right now.”

Toddey says it will likely be a bigger issue from the eastern Dakota’s through southern Minnesota, Iowa, southern Wisconsin, Illinois on into southern parts of Michigan and northern Indiana where it will get close to freezing and plants are further along in development.

“If we don’t go below freezing, then they are just going to be sitting in cold soils for a while and that will slow their development but should not be largely much of a problem.”

He says the cooler temperatures will likely have the most impact on specialty crops, winter wheat and row crops that have emerged in those areas.

Interview with Dennis Toddey

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