Map: Dakotas Drought Remains Entrenched

Feb 14, 2025

There is still plenty of time before spring planting, but abnormal dryness and drought remains stubbornly entrenched across the Dakotas.

Released today, the latest US drought monitor shows abnormal dryness afflicting more than two-thirds of North Dakota, with more than half of the state impacted by some form of drought (see map below). Those numbers have remained little changed since the end of November and represent a stark departure from early June, when abnormal dryness and drought impacted less than 9% and 3% of the state, respectively.

The situation in South Dakota is even worse, with 100% of the state being in some form of drought since early November. Like North Dakota, South Dakota went from being little affected by abnormal dryness and drought in June to the current levels.

Meanwhile, the latest season drought outlook from the US Climate Prediction Center suggests drought will persist across all of South Dakota and much of North Dakota for the remainder of February and through March and April as well.

The Dakotas experienced hot, dry conditions through much of the fall harvest, helping to set the stage for the current dryness.

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.