North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum hosted commodity groups in Fargo to discuss how current drought conditions are affecting this year’s crop yields.
In short – it’s not good.
"It's the good, it's the bad, and it's the ugly. And unfortuately, there's more ugly than there is good or bad."
Dan Wogsland is Executive Director of the North Dakota Grain Growers Association. He says much of the small grains producers in North Dakota are struggling with persistent dry conditions, or just not enough moisture. He says while many producers have experienced excellent yields in recent years, that just won’t be the case this year.
"If you take a look, the west central - the Hazen, Hurdsfield, going up as far as Berthold - I think that's kind of the epicenter, they just can't buy a rain out there. Obviously the Willison area got some rain last week, but they also got a long of damage. The Dickinson area, not too bad. The Linton area, not too bad. But east, the northeast, which traditionally has the majority of the wheat acres and usually gets the best yields - really in trouble up there."
Harrison Weber is Executive Director of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers; he says things in the valley are “okay,” but it’s still a little too early to tell how it’s going to go. Corn and soybean growers also report tough situations out in the fields; with many acres needing to be replanted after wind events.
Burgum also wanted to discuss opportunities for carbon capture with the commodity groups. He says moving forward, there will be more prospects for the energy and agriculture sectors in the state to work together – and he says carbon capture could be a big player moving forward.