Defining a normal growing season in South Dakota is no easy task. This spring farmers in parts of the state are facing some very wet weather.
South Dakota’s corn and soybean yields are taking a hit with heavy spring moisture in the southeast. Rainfall amounts are almost twice the average in some areas. And farmers say this has slowed spring fieldwork.
John Fahlberg is a farmer near Beresford. He says the recent moisture has been spotty across the region. While his farm has only seen a delayed planting schedule, he says his neighbors are experiencing unusually high rainfalls, leaving soil too muddy or completely flooded. He says this makes it impossible to use large equipment for planting even crops. But Fahlberg remains optimistic for the rest of the season.
“I find that just a little premature to think about at the first of June because we’ve still got a couple of weeks of what you would call for a good potential for planting yet,” says Fahlberg.
Fahlberg says adapting to the varying weather conditions requires converting to appropriate crops that can handle different temperatures and soils. After recent years of extreme moisture and drought, Fahlberg says he relies on flexibility to find success in the fields in any growing season.
South Dakota State University’s Laura Edwards says the summer weather patterns coming from the Gulf of Mexico are typical, but the amounts of moisture are not. She thinks the weather this year could affect overall yields in the state and entire region.
“May is generally the wettest month, but not as wet as it’s been. And I think the issues and the concerns down in the southeastern part of the state, they’re very similar to northwest Iowa, northeast Nebraska, they’re all being challenged with the same issues right now, and they’re all trying to manage it together," says Edwards.
Edwards sees drier weather in the coming weeks, but wet soils tend to cause cooler temperatures.