| A north-south strip in western ND got around 4" in May, so crops have actually looked good and everything came up, even after some wheat seed was in dry soil for 2 months. I finished sunflowers June 5 and I am glad I planted them 2" deep as I didn't have confidence we would get more rain, it looked like we got a freak rain, not a pattern change. They are rooted in but it is now dry 2" down. The wheat that was looking good, is quickly entering the fair category. Even with the good moisture we did get, wheat seeded into sunflower stubble will hit a wall before the end of June and everything else will run out of water shortly after. I think corn and sunflower can hang on here until mid July, unless it turn hot. The pictures of crops I have seen from the north central part of the state are worse than what I remember seeing in the southwest droughts in 2017, 2008 and 1988. My grandpa didn't talk about the "old days" as that was synonymous with "bad times", but I do remember him telling me that in 1936 it was hot and windy nearly every day, and what he remembered is that the days with strong NW winds, the wind blew hotter than days with a south wind. Kudos to you for not giving up. |