Soil moisture levels become bigger topic

With the threat of tariffs in the headlines almost every day, farmers in the U.S. are wondering what the inclusion of Canada and Mexico in the dispute might mean for a whole host of economic situations, including fertilizer prices and availability.

As the U.S. spring planting season inches ever closer, soil moisture levels throughout the Midwest are going to become a bigger and bigger talking point in the days and weeks ahead for farmers and industry analysts. Springtime rains are always a major question throughout farm country, but how much moisture is present in the soil going into this hit-or-miss timeframe can go a long way to alleviating stress for newly seeded crops. Luckily for those in the U.S., there are a plethora of readily accessible data sources available that help track this information.

The first source most people turn to when soil moisture questions get brought up is the U.S....