Brad Rippey

There was only a slight improvement in the poor to very poor ratings of pasture and rangeland conditions nationwide in the most recent USDA numbers. "49% very poor to poor, that is down a point from the previous week and there is no change in rangeland and pastures rated good to excellent," said USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey.  "S...

It may have taken a little while to get here, but wildfire season has descended upon the Pacific Northwest.  A hand full of fires are burning across the region, with the largest taking place in the mountains of central Idaho.  USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey said thanks to several dry years, the next two months could be very active. "It is a b...

Weather forecasts expect temperatures to climb into the upper 90s this week, with some locations expected to see highs well above the century mark.  And with those hot, dry conditions, the concern about wildfire risk grows. “Hopefully nothing like what we’ve experienced over the last couple of wildfire seasons, but never the less, sometimes when you have the cool wet springs, you get a lot of buil

Winter wheat harvesting hit a bit of a low over the past week. "So we saw just a 7 point jump in the harvest progress during the last week, to reach 70% overall," said USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey.  Rippey added that number is about average for this time of year, but harvest progress vastly different depending on where the wheat is. "We'v...

At any point, spring wheat growers could be finished with nationwide planting.  When the week started, growers were 88% done as we started the week and a little heat helped push emergence rates up to 89% nationally. As to condition, USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says it's improving. ...

How are pasture conditions nationwide? "Good to excellent ratings at 31% of the country; up 3% points from last week," noted USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.  "Meanwhile, the very poor to poor ratings 42%, that is down 1% from last week's 43%." ...

Last week, we told you how a high pressure dome over the southern and central Plains contributed to the flooding at Yellowstone National Park.  That dome of high pressure is having another impact on the farming community. "It does help winter wheat with the dry down, with the maturation period and also for harvest activities," said USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.  So...

The temporary closure of Yellowstone park due to flooding. "Record crests set on Yellowstone River and some of the tributaries across the northern Rockies," noted USDA meterologist Brad Rippey. It's a scenario he said has been caused by a combination of weather events, in addition to recent 2-4" of rainfall in the northern Rockies...

Meteorologist Brad Rippey said when it comes to the Spring Wheat crop, the USDA continues to report a record slow planting pace. As of Sunday June 5th, only 82% of the crop has been planted; the five year average is 97%. Some locations, especially in the upper Midwest are well off those numbers ...

According to USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey, spring wheat growers nationwide got out of the basement last week when it comes to planting. Noting, growers got 24% of the crop planted, meaning 73% of the crop is now in the ground, with 42% of the crop emerged ...