Drought Threatens Crops in Western, Northwestern Corn Belt

A climatologist says crops in the western and northwestern Corn Belt could see some of the greatest drought-related impacts this growing season, which include parts of the Dakotas, Southern Minnesota, even into portions of Wisconsin, Northwest Iowa, Northeast Nebraska. “There’s been a pocket of the region that really has been consistently drier than some of their neighboring areas,” says Brian Fuchs with the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Fuchs says crops in the region could continue to be impacted by the heat and dry conditions in September, including the later-planted corn and soybeans.

“From the crop tours that went through these areas over the last couple weeks, it looks like the pod numbers are pretty good on most of the soybean plants throughout the entire grain belt. And so, we’re just going to be looking at how those pods feel and grain weight.”

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor says exceptional drought is present in Nebraska and Colorado, while conditions are worsening across the Midwest, where 45 percent of the region is dry and more than two percent is in extreme drought.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Hopefully the impact of these drought conditions will not be all that harmful to yields in the affected areas. However, if the drought does continue, yields could fall off dramatically and cause a subsequent reduction in income for those impacted. It bears watching. If your dealership happens to be in an area hit by drought, be ready to place more emphasis on how you as a CAD member have programs like AgPack® that can help reduce a farmer’s operating costs. In addition, you have a financing option in CADFI which offers extremely competitive rates and flexible payment options.