As harvest approaches, some fields feeling stress due to drought

Corn stalks stand tall has they dry out and

Monday, Sept. 5, 2023, near Dimock.

By Erik Kaufman Mitchell Republic

MITCHELL — After timely rains fell in and around the Mitchell area in early July, farmers were feeling optimistic.

The precipitation had broken a recent dry spell and producers around South Dakota were breathing a sigh of relief that their crops were getting a boost after dry conditions began to inspire worry. If rains continued to fall in a timely manner the rest of the summer, there was a good chance to see high yields and good crop quality.

But as is often the case in South Dakota, the rains that followed the rest of the summer were spotty at best, dousing some fields and completely skipping others. Now as harvest looms on the horizon, agriculture experts are saying harvest yields could vary widely depending on location and luck.

“It’s taking its toll,” David Klingberg, executive director for the Farm Service Agency offices for Davison and Hanson counties in Mitchell, told the Mitchell Republic. “The crops are not as far along as we would have liked them to be with this heat and dryness.”

The Mitchell area has seen 14.49 inches of precipitation to this point this year, which is down from the normal precipitation of 16.26 inches usually seen by this time this year, according to the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls. Davison County entered D1 drought conditions April 25 and was in D2 drought conditions from June 6 to July 18.

Where moisture has been low, heat has been high. Mitchell was 5.2 degrees warmer than average in May and 5.1 degrees warmer than average in June. July actually saw a cool-off to 2.1 degrees below normal before spiking again to 1.5 degrees warmer than usual in August. And though it is a small sample size, the first five days of September have seen an average high temperature of 82.4 degrees, which is considerably higher than the 63.4 degree average normally seen.

It’s taken a toll on corn and soybean conditions, according to the latest

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USDA Crop Progress and Condition Report.

According to the latest report, corn conditions throughout the state rate at 12% excellent, 42% good, 32% fair, 10% poor and 4% very poor. In terms of topsoil moisture, reports indicate that 7% report a surplus, 57% report adequate, 28% report short and 8% report very short. Subsoil moisture measurements are similar, with 6% reporting a surplus, 50% reporting as adequate, 35% reporting short and 9% reporting very short.

The shortfall in precipitation came at an important time in crop development, Klingberg said, and is likely to impact at least some producers as they look toward harvest in the upcoming weeks.

“I don’t think the corn will fill nearly as well as if we had gotten more moisture and less heat. Guys are expecting it to be fairly rough,” Klingberg said. “The soybeans could be little BBs and the corn could be lightweight.”

Results are not expected to be uniform, he said. Even early rains in 2023 were hit and miss depending on the location of each field. Some farmers who drew good rains had neighbors down the road who saw much less precipitation.

Jeff Burg, who farms near Wessington Springs and represents District 7 with the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, said good fortune and cultivation practices could be a big factor this year in crop quality and quantity. No-till methods, drought-resistant seed hybrids and use of cover crops may have helped some farmers conserve the moisture they did get.

“It’s going to be highly variable depending on cultivation practices. We were working toward a pretty good crop until the last few weeks, but I’d call it an average crop, not below average,” Burg said.

Based on his observations, he is hoping for corn yields around 150 to 200 bushels per acre, and soybean yields in the 40 bushels to 60 bushels per acre range.

Burg said he expected better yields and crop conditions farther northwest in the Miller and Faulkton areas, where early rains were relatively steady and gave fields a good moisture base to work with as temperatures rose over the summer.

“You get northwest of here up toward Miller, they started out a lot wetter. They’ll have a bumper crop there and up in the Faulkton area. I talked to several (farmers in that area), and they have a big one,” Burg said.

Southwest of Mitchell, where early summer rains were much more irregular, is a somewhat different story. Mike Miller, who farms near Freeman, said he’s seeing rougher conditions in his field than some of his fellow producers in other areas.

“Everything is drying down prematurely. It’s going to hurt test weights on corn, and the beans are already suffering. Beans need rain in August and they’re just not getting it,” Miller said. “If we had gotten an inch or two in August then the beans could have survived this heat.”

Still, he feels the corn crop should be relatively good despite the poor weather conditions.

“The corn crop for us is going to be pretty good, but if we could get some rain I’d take it because if your beans are not brown I think it’s going to help them,” Miller said.

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Burg agreed that the corn is most likely as good as it will get before harvest, but there are benefits to late growing season rains outside the big crops of corn and soybeans. Those looking to plant winter wheat and rye could stand a shot of moisture before planting, as long as it doesn’t muck up the fields and slow down harvest work.

As dry as it is in some places, however, it would take a lot of rain to interfere with harvest, which should be starting later this month or early October, depending on conditions and location.

“You’d have to get a lot to slow anybody down,” Burg said.

The National Weather Service said temperatures should ease off in the upcoming weeks, with slightly increased chances for precipitation coming in mid-September.

Klingberg said farmers are also contemplating other moves as the growing season winds down. Because of the conditions, emergency haying is in effect for Davison and Hanson counties, allowing producers to bale hay on Conservation Reserve Program land. Klingberg said producers should check with their local Farm Service Agency office for details, as the program has variations from county to county.

Regardless, harvest is on the horizon, and Klingberg said he expected machinery to get underway soon.

“They’re looking to start pretty soon,” Klingberg said.

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Hundreds of people came to this week’s U-Pick flower event at Fleurish Flower Farm in Elk Point, South Dakota. However, they didn’t all drive there, some visitors arrived from the sky.

Several planes lined the runway during the event on Sunday, Aug. 27.

Travis and Lisa Meyer flew in with their Piper Cherokee 180 airplane from Wayne, Nebraska, to pick flowers.

“People that have planes want to fly, they want to go out and see things and do things and having an event like this at such a great location and facility, this is wonderful,” Travis said.

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The grass runway brings diversification to the farm.

“I think it’s really important to be diversified so you are not counting on just one type of customer,” Heckathorn said. “The fact that we do have the grass runway here, it’s extremely specialized and it’s not something that just anybody could do ... so the fact that we can offer that to people, I think just kind of makes the flower farm even more special.”

The event brings the aviation and farming communities together.

“The aviation community really is a family atmosphere and from what I am seeing here the flower, the agriculture, farming, everybody is a family and I know in the agricultural world you see it,” Travis said.

And it’s a way to combine Christy’s love of flowers with her husband Chad’s love of airplanes into one event.

“It’s really nice that we can combine kind of our two loves together, his being aviation and mine growing flowers, so I think the fact that he can introduce people in the aviation industry to flowers is just really kind of fun because pilots are always looking for somewhere unique and special to fly to and I am not really sure if there is another flower farm that has a runway like this on it, so it’s definitely kind of a neat combination,” Heckathorn said. Travis encourages other pilots to check out the farm.

“Come out, stop by, it’s not that far really from anywhere, Tea, South Dakota is very busy airport, we are just south of there. Not very far. In a flight, it’s 15–20-minute flight. Come on down, check them out, and it will be well worth your trip,” Travis said.

If you are interested in flying into a you-pick event, reach out to Fleurish Flower Farm and they will provide you with the coordinates and flight information.