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South Dakota heat dome raises concerns for spring wheat

A grain elevator manager in central South Dakota says he’s not sure how the spring wheat crop will do in this week’s heat dome.

Kevin Kjorsvik is the general manager of Oahe Grain Corporation.

“The spring wheat is kind of questionable. It’s just starting to turn color here. The results there on how it’s going to fare is still to be you determined.”

Laura Edwards, the state climatologist with South Dakota State University Extension, tells Brownfield highs are expected to be around 100 degrees in the Dakotas this week, and that will stress plants.

“Pushing through these physiological stages, the spring wheat doesn’t have as much time in each stage to really complete its full cycles. It could affect quality, green fill, grain size, those kinds of things,” she says. “But in northeast South Dakota, we got some really good rains last week, so soil moisture is probably pretty good, but we’re seeing some areas in North Dakota experiencing some short-term dryness now and it’s more concerning up there.”

USDA says South Dakota’s spring wheat conditions are rated 48 percent good to excellent, as of Sunday. Kjorsvik says he’s expecting a variable spring wheat crop at harvest.

Hear Brownfield’s interview with Kevin Kjorsvik.

Hear Brownfield’s interview with Laura Edwards.