News

Weather extremes impact alfalfa in southern Minnesota

Weather extremes are impacting alfalfa hay in southern Minnesota.

Farm management analyst Kent Thiesse says April and May were cold and wet, while June was hot and dry.

“The volume of the hay was very good in many areas I think because when you get wetter weather like that, and I think the first cutting was probably a little later than normal because of the cool weather in May. But then when it warmed up in June I think it was a challenge in some areas, especially in early June, getting the crop harvested.”

He tells Brownfield the heat and dryness hurt recovery in second crop hay.

“Maybe some of that will come now once we get some rain, but once you get north of the southern two tiers of counties rainfall amounts dropped off quite a bit.”

The USDA says the first cutting of alfalfa in Minnesota is 94 percent complete and the second cutting is 16 percent done as of Sunday.

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!