June frost hits South Dakota corn; US Northern Plains drought intensifies

Over the last weekend of June, some of the already drought-stricken areas in north-central South Dakota saw a damaging frost on their corn. The frost didn't hit the winter or spring wheat, but that could be partially due to the fact that there isn't much winter wheat left in the fields. At least 75% of the winter wheat in the drought-stricken areas of South Dakota has been baled or sprayed out. Some authorities have declared that at least $20 million of crops in South Dakota have already been destroyed by drought or the June 24 frost, with more losses expected. Farmers have also recently started to bale drought-damaged spring wheat.The June 29 U.S. Drought Monitor showed that 2% of South Dakota is in extreme drought, 29% is rated in severe drought versus 18% the prior week, and the rest of the state is in moderate drought stage to abnormally dry. In North Dakota, 8% of the state is in extreme drought, 32% in severe drought, 27% in moderate drought and 33% is abnormally dry. In Montana, 48% of the state is facing some degree of drought, with 17% rated moderate, 18.4% rated severe and 6.8% rated extreme, with the ratings for these three categories growing over the past week.Paul Anderson of Coleharbor, North Dakota, had this to say about wheat conditions in his area: "2017 will be the worst wheat crop for us since 1988. The early wheat did not get measurable rain until mid-June. Heads per acre and spikelets per head were set under drought conditions. Only kernel weight is yet to be determined. It looks tough 20 miles either side of HWY 83 between Bismarck to Minot, North Dakota."