The fall season was the driest on record for the entire country. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says that hasn’t changed over the winter months. “If you look at the numbers in the Red River Valley, there’s half of normal or less for season-to-date snowfall,” Rippey told RRFN. “If you combine the fact that we had the dry late summer and autumn and how much snow, we’ve got, a lot of areas in North Dakota are going to be short on soil moisture heading into spring planting unless we get a big change between now and April/May.” During an appearance at the Northern Corn and Soybean Expo, Rippey said that trend could continue into the growing season.
