Crop Report: 30% topsoil moisture short; Crop stress visible
Tuesday's Minnesota Crop Report opened some eyes.
Fully 30% of topsoil moisture in Minnesota is now listed as "short or very short." That's up from about 2% at the start of August.
The latest data from the United States Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service.
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Dry and warm weather during August has steadily pulled mositure form Minnesota soils. You may notice your garden needs water lately, so do many fileds in Minnesota, Some crops are showing signs of drought stress.
"Average temperatures were 3.4° above normal
this past week and continued a pattern of above
average temperatures and below average
precipitation for several consecutive weeks.
Precipitation ranged from .89 inch in
southeastern areas to .27 inch in west central
areas. Some reporters noted that crops are
beginning to show signs of stress from lack of
moisture. Topsoil moisture supplies were rated 7
percent very short, 23 percent short, 65 percent
adequate, and 5 percent surplus, a slight decline
from the previous week. Statewide, 5.6 days
were rated suitable for fieldwork."
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor for Minnesota confirms the trends.
With a full week of above average temperatures and little or no rainfall ahead, expect the numbers to trend even drier by next week.
There's going to be a lot more yellow on the drought map as September rolls on.
PH