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Agronomist surprised by how dry it is in many parts of the Midwest

Soil moisture conditions are worsening in many key U.S. growing areas.

Stine Seed regional agronomist Bill Kessinger describes his territory as the southern half of Wisconsin down to the Tennessee border, out to the East Coast.

“Soil moisture conditions are, I’m not going to use the word ‘critical’ yet, but something to be concerned about. It’s surprisingly dry for the end of April. A lot of tile (and) a lot of things guys have been digging up and looking at in the soil, moisture is well below normal.”

He tells Brownfield that needs to be a consideration as planting progresses across the country.

“When we’re thinking about planting depth, populations, and things we’re going to do into the summer.”

Kessinger says soil moisture is alarmingly low in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.