Extremely Spotty: Growers in NW Minnesota see extreme variability in crop condition
Written by Jonathan Eisenthal
Crops in northwest Minnesota are faring from good to poor, according to area growers, with the description “spotty” seeming to capture what is happening.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reports “degradations” in drought conditions this past week throughout Minnesota, and the Climate Prediction Center’s Seasonal Drought Outlook, released August 17, and valid through the end of November, forecasts: “Drought is also expected to persist and locally worsen from the Upper Mississippi Valley westward…”
“The best description of this area is ‘extremely spotty,’” said Blair Hoseth, a corn grower in Mahnomen and Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) board member. The geographic spread of his operation extends about 12 miles in all directions. “Our fields have been fortunate, in that they’ve all had rain, just in the nick of time, off and on, all summer.”
He describes a season punctuated by rains dropping a fraction of an inch, just often enough to “keep the crop on life support.” He feels grateful to expect an average yield all told, but he sees plenty of growers across the northern tier who have not been so lucky.
“In spots, things look really good, but I have other guys who have canceled their commercial straw orders because their silage looks so poor, they won’t have enough to feed their cattle,” Hoseth said. “If we take the whole region into account, I think all of northern Minnesota will be a little under average.”
John Swanson farms in Mentor, 30 miles east of Crookston, and reports that he expects a below-average crop this year, due to lack of rain. He also serves on the MCGA board.
“Crops in our area are extremely varied (in condition),” Swanson said. “On our farm, we have some areas that look very good, and some areas that have only had 3.5 inches of rain since planting. We have seen areas close to normal rainfall north of our farm, and to the south it’s been much less. And then you just go four miles south of that, and there was plenty of rain again. It’s just pockets with lots of showers that have come through, that have hit you, and supplied much-needed rain, and areas that didn’t get much rain.”
This is coming off a drought year for him in 2022, where his operation saw no rain between June and October.
Dave Vipond serves as a representative on the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council. He farms in Mahnomen, and his fields received more than adequate rain last year.
“Last year was the best crop we ever had,” Vipond said, noting that in 2022 they received three inches of rain each month in June and July, topped off by four inches in August. But this year, the rain has been irregular.
“We could use some rain, no question there,” Vipond said. “The corn is starting to fire, but it’s held on pretty well. It’s set good ears. It could use some rain to finish it out. We’re looking at an average to above-average crop right now, as long as we get some rain. It probably will go backwards without a shot of rain, and the forecast looks pretty dry. So, we are right on the edge. It really needs a drink to keep it going.”
All three farmers report traveling between Crookston and Brainerd and finding many pockets of crops fairing average at best, but often below average and affected by drought. All the farmers in the northern tier will be hoping for rain in the next few months, not only to finish off this year’s crop, but to recharge very dry subsoil.
