Timely rainfall is more critical than normal this growing season. Only the northeast corner of South Dakota has been removed from the drought designation, though it is still abnormally dry. Only 28% of subsoil moisture in the state is rated adequate to surplus in the latest USDA-NASS crop progress and condition report. Growers abandoning winter wheat and seeding a spring crop may want to consider the answers to these questions: 1) Are some crops thriftier with water and 2) did some crops in 2012 deplete soil moisture more than others?

How far has carryover nitrogen moved in our soils with the moisture we have received mostly this spring. Soil nitrate-N is water soluble, so it can move with the infiltration of the precipitation. However, movement of water and nitrate-N within the soil is complex and all the nitrate-N doesn’t move exactly with the water wetting front.

The first week in May is not unusual for a hard freeze across most of the state, as shown in the light blue color. The State Climate Office shows average last dates for 24, 28, 32 and 36 degree air temperatures in the spring. Over the last several days, these temperatures have risen 4-6 degrees in many areas, so we are now in a better range for planting.

The single most limiting factor to crop yields in central SD is moisture. This could be especially true this year after coming off a dry summer, fall and most of the winter. Luckily we have had some recent snows. While no-till is extremely important in saving additional soil moisture, it is not the only management practice that can be used to save water.

Our recent heavy snowfall has been welcome to replenish some of our region’s dry soils. The snow also brought comments and questions concerning the nitrogen within the precipitation in that it will help green up our pastures and winter wheat. We measured and analyzed the snowfall received in Brookings, SD about 30 hours after it had fallen.

Soil moisture conditions have changed some with recent snows and moistures.  However, in some parts of the state, there still exists the possibility of dry planting conditions this spring.  Regardless of soil moisture conditions where you are at, fortunately there is a calculator that can give some useful starter guidelines for various crops, starter fertilizers, and soil moisture conditions.

After a tough, dry fall and relatively dry and warm winter in many areas of South Dakota, producers are wondering how wheat stands will fare this spring. With many fields, few plants emerged last fall. Most producers will take a ‘wait and see’ attitude before allocating inputs such as fertilizer to the wheat.

The first Soil Health Info Day in South Dakota was held in Mitchell on Tuesday, December 11. It appears the topic caught a lot of interest with attendee numbers of approximately 240. The agenda consisted of four speakers. Each gave excellent presentations with a lot of great information. Jim Hoorman, Ohio State University, presented on soil compaction and the biology behind it.

In this rapidly changing world, technological advances allow us to inventory and understand soils in new and extremely useful ways. In the recent past, one would go to the county USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office and obtain detailed soils information from published soil surveys for a county or selected geographic region.

The potential for the 2012 drought in South Dakota to persist into 2013 is a real concern according to Dennis Todey, SDSU State Climatologist. As an agronomist, my first response to his report was, “How can we increase or maintain soil moisture through management?” My first thought was to skip fall tillage which would: 1. Maintain residue cover on the soil surface to minimize. 2. Leave stalks or stubble standing to increase snow capture evaporation.