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Recent precipitation may provide some relief to drought-stricken Great Plains

Recent storms brought some relief to historic drought for a few farmers in the Great Plains.  

“It definitely made it so we could have some moisture to plaint into, but it’s not a drought buster my any means.”

Central Kansas farmer Brian Sieker tells Brownfield his farm received up to an inch of rain, but it’s still too dry to begin planting. “I moved quite a few acres from corn to milo because of the lack of profile.”

South Central Nebraska farmer Mike Bergen says he planted some corn before a storm on Tuesday night. “Soil temps have been a little variable.  They’ve been a little bit below and then they go above 50 degrees. Definitely seeded into drier soil, but catching about three-quarters of an inch of rain definitely took some of the worry out of that.”

And, he says the moisture will improve planting conditions with additional rain chances this week. “I was only about an 1.40 inches of moisture since the beginning of the year, and adding .80 of moisture is going to add significantly to that.”

Sieker says he may begin planting over the next few weeks, but isn’t in a rush begin planting, and Bergen says once it dries out, planting will pick up speed.