Weather - General
The drought plaguing eastern Montana and much of North and South Dakota came on quickly and is intensifying, leading ranchers to sell their cattle and farmers to harvest early whatever crops that have grown so far this summer.
Gov. Doug Burgum has further relaxed commercial driving restrictions to help drought-stricken North Dakota farmers and ranchers.
One of the contributing factors to our alfalfa stand losses is a root rot called Aphanomyces race 2. The prolonged wet conditions allowed this root disease to finish off already-weakened alfalfa crowns.
North Dakota drought worrying crop and livestock producers
Significant alfalfa losses experienced in eastern Wisconsin
Recent cooler temperatures and gray skies in Amarillo, Texas are predicted to remain through the rest of the week, and most likely into the weekend, with a light breeze and at least a 40 to 60 percent chance of rain each day.
Cattlemen at the 2015 Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association tradeshow heard an overall favorable weather forecast for cattle, crop and forage production.
Early next week, cooler weather will spread from the Midwest into the Northeast.
Take a virtual crop tour across farm country, without leaving your chair.
Roughly half of the country is experiencing dry conditions, yet analysts think the same number of acres will be planted to water-intensive alfalfa this spring.