# A warm winter and lingering drought could set up a tough growing season in the Midwest | Nebraska Public Media

> Much of the Midwest and Great Plains was in moderate to severe drought in early March 2024, with extreme drought in northeast Iowa. Dry conditions along the upper Mississippi from Minnesota to Missouri were raising concerns for the coming planting season, and warm weather was increasing soil moisture loss.

- Date: 2024-03-11 · published 2024-03-11T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/13201-a-warm-winter-and-lingering-drought-could-set-up-a-tough-growing-season-in-the
- Commodities: [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md)

## Why it matters

Dryness across the corn belt raises the risk of a poor crop, which supports corn prices. Low river levels on the upper Mississippi could also push up barge freight costs.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bullish ▲
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2017-10-24 | [What Will a La Nina Winter Mean for the Midwest? \| CropWatch \| Nebraska](https://feedsoft.ai/events/68370-what-will-a-la-nina-winter-mean-for-the-midwest-cropwatch-nebraska.md) | -0.6% | -5.0% |
| CORN | 2025-10-17 | [La Niña Watch Is On — Here’s How It Could Shake Up Drought and Winter Weather - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/22315-la-nina-watch-is-on-here-s-how-it-could-shake-up-drought-and-winter-weather.md) | -0.0% | +2.9% |
| CORN | 2021-01-20 | [Why Even Corn Can Get a Bad Night of Sleep \| Nebraska Public Media](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48995-why-even-corn-can-get-a-bad-night-of-sleep-nebraska-public-media.md) | +3.1% | +2.1% |
| CORN | 2021-04-08 | [Drought conditions top of mind as farmers ease into the planting season - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47441-drought-conditions-top-of-mind-as-farmers-ease-into-the-planting-season.md) | +3.6% | +25.3% |
| CORN | 2021-05-24 | [A Closer Look at Drought and Crop Progress in 5 Top Corn Growing States](https://feedsoft.ai/events/46940-a-closer-look-at-drought-and-crop-progress-in-5-top-corn-growing-states.md) | -0.3% | +2.2% |

## Sources

- nebraskapublicmedia.org: https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/a-warm-winter-and-lingering-drought-could-set-up-a-tough-growing-season-in-the-midwest/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.