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Experts say snow dumped on the Midwest from two big storms in less than a week -- including nearly 7 inches in Fort Scott and Bourbon County earlier this week -- may not end a lengthy drought in Kansas and other states but will definitely help the situation.
"Anytime we can get moisture, it's a benefit," Southwind District Extension Agent Delta George said Thursday.
Much-anticipated snow recently will bring many benefits to the struggling wheat crop, K-State Research and Extension crop production specialist said in a news release. In many ways, snow will be even more beneficial than rain.
"The snow's a good thing," George said, adding the soil is absorbing much of the snow as it melts into the ground. "It's melting out slow so we're able to absorb that ... with the ground not being frozen, it's muddy out there now."
The benefits of the snow outlined by Shroyer in the release include:
* Moisture. Obviously, snow brings much-needed moisture to wheat fields. The general rule is 10 inches of snow equals 1 inch of rain, although this varies, depending on how fluffy or heavy the snow is. One of the benefits of getting moisture in the form of snow is that nearly all the moisture will move down into the soil and remain there for quite some time. Since the weather is cold, or at least cool after a snow, very little of it will evaporate immediately.
* Root development. Moisture from snow will help increase root growth of wheat. Even if the top growth is dormant and isn't growing during periods of cold weather, roots will continue to grow if there is moisture.
* Soil protection. Snow cover does a great job in keeping the soil from blowing. As long as the ground is protected by snow, soil particles on the surface can't be picked up by high winds, thus preventing wind erosion for a time.
* Soil temperatures. Snow has an insulating effect on the soil, keeping cold air temperatures from reducing soil temperatures and protecting the crown of the wheat plant from cold injury. Snow also keeps soils warmer during the winter by adding moisture to the soil. It takes longer for wet soils to get cold than dry soils.
The best way for a grower to improve the chances of having snow cover is to maintain standing residue on the field, Shroyer added.
"Standing residue is especially effective in capturing and keeping snow, especially when it's windy," he said. "That's another reason that keeping residue on the soil is important."
The National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb., said earlier this week that snowstorms that hit Kansas last month have eased dry conditions but have not ended the ongoing drought.
Climatologist Mark Svoboda said in an Associated Press story it takes roughly a foot of snow to make an inch of water. That means Kansas would need two to four feet of snow just to erase precipitation deficits since October 2012.
Svoboda said that doesn't count the deficits from a drought that has lasted almost two years in Kansas and one year in the northern Great Plains states. Kansas needs 12 to 16 inches of water to fully recover.
The effects will linger well after the so-called "climatological drought" ends. It takes months or years for pastures and rangelands to recover to the point where there is good forage for livestock, he said.
States like Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma have been among the hardest hit by the drought that at one point covered two-thirds of the nation. Two storms just days apart dumped nearly 20 inches on Wichita and more than a foot in parts of Oklahoma, Nebraska and other Plains states, the AP reported.
In its latest crop condition report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture offered a glimpse of what the continuing drought in the Plains has done to the winter wheat crop. In Kansas, 36 percent of wheat fields are listed as in poor or very poor condition. Winter wheat is planted in the fall, when dry soil made it difficult for seeds to germinate and needs a blanket of snow to protect it. This year's snows came late.