News

Soil moisture deficit heading into 2023

A lack of subsoil moisture is a concern for many Corn Belt farmers.

Ryan Buck of Goodhue in southeast Minnesota says there’s a substantial deficit after two years of dryness.

“There is really nothing there. You go down 10 inches and it’s basically powder.”

Drought conditions range from moderate to extreme in the southeast corner of the state.

“So we’re either going to need quite a bit of rain before it freezes up (and) winter hits to recharge the soil around here, otherwise it’s going to have to rain a lot next spring when the frost comes back out.”

Buck tells Brownfield the crop performed surprisingly well considering “spotty rains” throughout the growing season.