Minnesota's summer heat waves may have a devastating impact on many crops.
Up until about one week ago, the outlook for this year's crops seemed fantastic, says Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen.
"Minnesota was kind of the garden spot for the whole United States," he says. "But with the heat that we've had, we are really worried that we're going to start to see some distress."
Judging by the upcoming forecast, things will only get worse with much of the state suffering from at least some drought.
"40% of the state last week was in D1, moderate drought, and 13% in Severe drought," says Petersen. "And I think that's really going to increase this week as we see these warm temperatures. And so, what that does is starting to put a damper on the crop."
But Petersen says there is hope.
"This cropping season was looking like a really bumper crop. And it still can get there if we can get some rain," Petersen adds.
That rain may not be in this week's forecast, however. WCCO-TV Chief Meteorologist Chris Shaffer says it'll be in the 90s again Monday through Wednesday. He says the next chance of rain comes Thursday into Friday. But even that is just a slight chance.
Speaking to WCCO on Friday, Petersen adds that things are still in decent shape. But they are concerned heading into the driest month of the summer, August. The lack of rain is only part of the problem. The crops are getting that extra stress from one of the hottest stretches Minnesota has had in recent years.
"In this week's crop report, we had our corn and soybeans were 80% in good to excellent condition," Petersen explains. "I think that's going suffer some this week. We also started our wheat harvest this week, and that actually looks pretty decent. But I am worried going into this week, especially with highs in the 90s this weekend."
