Northern Plains Drought Damage Mounts

The northern plains drought is continuing to damage crops and forage with no real end in sight anytime soon.  Grassland and spring wheat have both suffered significant damage.  A DTN article says South Dakota is the driest it’s been for April-June since 2006.  Other locations have seen the driest April-June time period ever.

June was the eighth-driest month on record for the state and the weather forecast is continued hot and dry for the next two weeks.

“Corn is so short that even cutting for silage is questionable,” says North Dakota State Extension Crop Specialist Ryan Buelow. “The way it’s starting to look now, it’s not even going to make silage.”

South Dakota State Climatologist Laura Edwards says the dryness is becoming historic. June was the eighth-driest month on record for the state and the weather forecast is continued hot and dry for the next two weeks.

“Corn in South Dakota starts to pollinate around mid-July,” she says, “and that could be a tough time.” The impact is being felt across the entire ag industry. Cattle ranchers are selling large parts of their herds because of feed shortages. There have also been big reductions in fertilizer and herbicide sales.

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