Today I finally had time to read the Weekly Weather and Crop Update from the Southern Research and Outreach Center at Waseca. I guess I thought I had a pretty good idea what it was going to say, hot and dry. Normally hot air is very dry which means no rain and that was the case last week. No rain and average would be 1.24 inches. On the positive side we did accumulate 186 growing degree units which was 60 percent above normal. Since May 1, we have received 559 growing degree units.

As I alluded to, the hot temperatures last week were extreme! We averaged 80.1 degrees and that was 14 degrees above normal. Tom Hoverstad Scientist at the Southern Research and Outreach Center said "in all the years we have done this weekly update, I do not recall reporting an average weekly temperature over 80 degrees."

Farmers that have been around for a while, are thinking 2021 is beginning to feel a lot like the drought of 1988! Jay Zielske Agronomist with Pioneer wrote in his weekly update that we have a ways to go before we challenge the hot and dry of 1988. That year the Twin Cities had 50 days over 90 degrees plus only 10 to 13 inches of rain fell in the 1988 growing season!

We have a long way to go to beat the hot and dry of 1988. Lets hope we don't! Tom Hoverstad made another good point, "we are fortunate that neither corn or soybeans have reached the stage where daily requirements for soil water are at their highest."  Friday late morning we received .4 inches of rain in Faribault. Some were not as fortunate as my farm received only .1 inches. Lets hope that there is a change in the forecast. There is none for the next week!

These Are the 20 Safest Cities in Minnesota in 2021

Everyone wants the place they call home to be a safe place where we can go relax at the end of the day. According to Safewise, these are the 20 safest cities in the state of Minnesota for 2021.

 

 

More From Fun 104