A soybean farmer attending Dakotafest at Mitchell characterized South Dakota crop conditions in a single word: variable. From severely dry in the southern part of the state to a garden spot in the northeast, the state’s weather pattern has driven a wide disparity in predicted crop yields.
South Dakota Soybean Association board member Tanner Hento of Avon spent the season hoping for rain that, for the most part, failed to materialize. Although his area has recovered some, at one point during the summer Hento’s farm was in a drought area rated by the National Integrated Drought Information System as D4 – its most severe rating, officially referred to as exceptional drought.
“Bon Homme County is looking pretty tough. The rain was pretty sparse, less than 10 inches of rain total for the year,” Hento lamented during a conversation at South Dakota Soybean’s Dakotafest tent. “All things considered, we're probably fortunate the corn is as tall as it is, but we're going to have a lot of fields that have a zero yield. Soybeans, if you're really fortunate, maybe 40 to 50 bushels [to the acre] if we get a few more rains, but you're going to see a lot of 20s and 30s [bushels to the acre] in Avon as well, and it gets worse the further you get to the river.”
Meanwhile, northeastern South Dakota is a different, better story. Board member Dan Nigg at Sisseton had some doubts to start the season but has since experienced an excellent year.
“We were a little wet to start and a little cold this spring,” said Nigg, “but it took off. Three weeks ago, we got a seven-inch rain one night and thought it'd be terrible. Within a week, you couldn't even tell it rained. I mean, that's how much it soaked it up.”
Jeff Kloucek at Scotland in northern Bon Homme County says at this stage, some of the crops in his area look good, some not so good.
Click here to see more...