NATIONAL AG WEEK: What will spring bring?

A mild winter is affecting farmland in variety of ways as farmers look toward the spring planting season.

Gentry Sorenson, an ISU Extension field agronomist based out of Algona, said dry conditions abound in northwest Iowa.

"Rainfall would not hurt during the month of March to help recharge the subsoil moisture," he said. "I'm hearing about a few field fires, and there is a concern about high winds and dry corn stalks."

The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor listed all of northwest Iowa as "Abnormally Dry" or in "Moderate Drought." That's better than some locations, as a large swath o...