As the winter snow melts from the fields around the Red River Valley region, there are just two possibilities for soil conditions.
It can be too wet or it can be too dry. The concept of "just about right" almost never works in the early spring. If winter snow was substantial, or even average, the frost in the ground makes it hard for moisture to be absorbed.
So the soil tends to remain soggy and any rain tends to just sit there and make mud. Spring field work has to wait for drier days. If the winter snow cover was light, then the strong sunlight beaming down this time of year tends to evaporate what little moisture is in the topsoil and it gets dusty in a hurry.
This can be frustrating for the farmer who is either waiting for fields to be dry enough for work or else is planting seeds knowing they will require rain for germination.
