No one can argue there has been some nice weather this spring. Drier conditions have allowed farmers to get into fields sooner than one year ago, and planting is nearly complete.
However, that dry spell, which has been hitting the metro area heavily, is starting to expand westward.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, all of Red-wood County is in an abnormally dry area.
While there is concern that the area is almost two inches short on rainfall for May, and two inches short in April, experts are not yet willing to throw up the white flag surrendering this year’s crop.
“What I can tell you is that we have been running a-round average for soil moisture,” said Dr. Jeff Strock, a soil scientist with Southwest Research and Outreach Center (SWROC) near Lam-berton, “but you couple the 90 degree heat and high winds we had and it is going to rob moisture.”
Strock said one concern is the pattern of rainfall.
Historic patterns could spell trouble for crops.
“This is typically the time, June 1, where we hit our peak for rainfall,” Strock said. “From there it goes gradually and steadily down until fall, when it goes back up. Once we start in this decline, if we don’t get rain, we will plunge into a deficit before we want.”
Redwood Falls, Minn. —
