Minnesota, Wisconsin Mostly Escaping Drought
Saint Paul Pioneer Press -- July 26, 2012 -- Look at the latest drought map, then be grateful.Only one swath of the Midwest has escaped this summer's drought -- and it's right here, in eastern Minnesota and upper Wisconsin.
From the front range of the Rockies, across the plains and the Corn Belt, all the way to the Ohio River, a severe drought is gripping the heart of the nation this summer. On Thursday, July 26, the U.S. Drought Monitor issued its latest map, showing how bad things have gotten. Except here.
Officials found 98 percent of the High Plains was abnormally dry, most of it in severe drought (although patches of North Dakota have escaped). And 74 percent of the Corn Belt was in drought, most of it severe.
Minnesota has been far luckier. While this has been a hot summer, and parts of the state need rain, most of the state isn't in drought condition.
The two big exceptions are southwest Minnesota and the Red River Valley. Both are in drought, some of it severe, and those two regions are among Minnesota's top farming regions. So some Minnesota farmers, too, are seeing once-healthy-looking crops shrivel.
Still, Minnesota remains a relative garden spot. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that Minnesota's corn crop remains the best in the nation. On Monday, 61 percent of Minnesota's corn crop was in good or excellent condition, versus 31 percent for the nation as a whole.
If that pattern holds, it should mean a big payday for the luckiest farmers. The drought has caused
grain prices to soar, with corn recently touching $8 a bushel in Chicago, and soybeans over $16 a bushel.
The Drought Monitor map is compiled weekly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the USDA. See more at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
Author: Tom Webb
651-228-5428
Follow him at twitter.com/TomWebbMN
(c)2012 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)
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