Topsoil Can Be Double-Edged Sword

Moisture in the topsoil is needed to be at different levels depending on what you’re trying to do.

USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey said, “The topsoil moisture is a bit of a double-edged sword. If it’s dry, you can plant, but you need moisture eventually for development.”

So in the spring, there needs to be some moisture in the ground but much of the Northwest has struggled with too much soil moisture which has made it challenging to plant.

Rippey did note, “Once the crop is emerged and begins to grow, you need to have an improvement in topsoil moisture to prevent stress on the young crops.”

Rippey said currently the South needs much more moisture than the Northern Tier of the U.S. because they have already planted while we are looking to plant up here.