Mild winter isn’t good news for area farmers

PEORIA (25News Now) - While it’s important for corn, soybeans and other farm crops to catch needed sunlight during the spring, summer and fall, a state climatologist says winter weather is just as essential for the fields.

The mild weather we’ve had so far causes farmers to worry about another drought.

“If we are drier in April, May, June, what those drier soils could do is put us at a higher risk that we see drought impacts a bit faster, said Trent Ford, state climatologist with the University of Illinois.

The manager of the Peoria County Farm Bureau, Patrick Kirchhofer, says January is the month Central Illinois farmers typically like deep freezes and snow to keep the soil moist and to kill insects.

“If it does freeze and then we get rains, a lot of times that doesn’t help a whole lot because it’s just going to run off,” said Kirchhofer.

While no one is really shoveling much snow this winter, the amount of total precipitation, in this case rain, is making up for it.

Ground temperatures as of Jan. 3 are sitting above normal at around 32 degrees, but there were some benefits to a milder winter last year.

“We’re getting longer growing seasons. So our yields continue to increase as far as corn and soybeans. Whenever you can get the crop planted earlier in the spring, it has a longer time to grow and develop,” Kirchhofer said.

Ford, the state climatologist, adds there are enough winter systems but not enough cold air.

Ford says there has been three years in a row with below average snowfall, and the longer-term trajectory of snowfall in Peoria is on a slight decline.