December was drier than normal for much of Michigan.

The USDA says average statewide rainfall was about four tenths of an inch below usual levels, with 30% of Michigan abnormally and another 9% is in moderate drought, with the driest conditions in the southwestern Upper Peninsula.

That’s in contrast to excessive soil moisture levels in parts of the southern Lower Peninsula, which have limited fieldwork, including the end of the 2021 harvest.

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