Snow. We all complain about it, at least in my household we do. We have to shovel, the car is a mess, it’s cold and the garage floor is covered in gravel brought in by our tires. But, I’m slowly learning to love it again because my 2-year-old looks like the Michelin Tire Man in his snow suit and it makes me laugh.

As the sun came up over the hill last week, it made the snow appear as though it had been dusted with glitter. And, it gives off a gentle blue hue just before suppertime. It’s the beauty of the season, but for farmers, it also means ground moisture for planting in the spring.

To put it in numbers, 12 inches of snow can provide farmers almost one inch of additional soil moisture in the soil profile. That moisture could increase corn yields by as much as 8 to 12 bushels per acre. That moisture is especially valuable to dryland crops. And, hopefully irrigation won’t have to be used as early in the growing season which will also help farmers save money.

It’s nature’s way of preparing the soil for the coming year. And instead of complaining, I guess we better enjoy it because if you wait five minutes, the weather might change and we’ll be complaining we need rain.

Until we walk again …