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Stakes high as drought stresses Minnesota crops

Some farmers in drought-stricken Minnesota might compare catching a rain to winning the lottery.

Northwest Minnesota crop and livestock producer Shayne Isane says a promising spring gave way to hot and dry conditions this summer.

“We got off to a nice start. We had a good snowmelt (and) the crop came up out of the ground probably as nice as I’ve seen it in many years. And then we just ran out of water, and it got warmer than usual in June and we just could not catch those rains that we needed.”

In west central Minnesota, farmer Nathan Collins tells Brownfield the weather has been good.

“We’ve been very blessed. Having been able to drive around the state quite a bit, we’re in a good area. We just got some wind and some downed corn, but you know things look pretty good for us right now.”

And south-central Minnesota corn and soybean grower Sam Ziegler suggests with moisture, it’s been luck of the draw.

“We have had about half our property pretty much miss most of the rains, and the other half to the eastern side catch some rains. And you can tell the height and the look of the plants, both corn and soybeans, drastically different in that five mile difference.”

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows more than 80 percent of Minnesota is in moderate to severe drought.

Shayne Isane interview:

Nathan Collins interview:

Sam Ziegler interview: