MINNEAPOLIS — The latest drought monitor was released by the National Drought Mitigation Center Thursday morning, and it’s not looking good for Minnesota.
One hundred percent of the state is abnormally dry right now, with 63.6% experiencing a moderate drought and 11% experiencing a severe drought.
The numbers from this same time last year paint a very different picture, with 11% of the state abnormally dry and less than 3% of the state experiencing a moderate drought.
“Since it’s the whole state right now, it’s a bit concerning. If we don’t get some rain in the next few weeks, we could have a very widespread drought,” Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture Thom Peterson says.
Besides being the commissioner of agriculture, Peterson is a farmer himself, and recently saw the impact of this ongoing drought at a local hay auction.
“We’re starting to see those hay prices increase. Farmers were kind of raising their eyebrows seeing some of the prices creeping up there,” Peterson says.
The good news is Peterson says there still appears to be a good supply of hay locally, but he’s concerned because a lot of farmers are already using hay to feed their animals.
"Cattle farmers rely on summer pastures and grasses to really move that cattle along, and if those pastures dry up, we're going to have to start feeding hay early,” Peterson says.
Using hay early could create a bigger problem down the road and there might not be a lot of help outside of Minnesota.
Looking at the national drought map, the three largest hay-producing states, Texas, Missouri and Nebraska, are also abnormally dry this year.
"Just really drying up fast and it's a concern. For some of these farmers, this has been going on for a couple of years and it really forces them to be creative,” Peterson says.
Thursday afternoon, Peterson held a drought stakeholder meeting with farmers to hear their concerns.
During the drought two years ago, Peterson says the state opened up public land for farmers to help them feed their animals and they could do that again this year.
State Fair organizers are also watching the drought.
Organizers sent us this statement regarding the drought and its possible impact on the State Fair:
“While it is difficult to see how the drought has created a very vulnerable situation throughout the state, at this time registrations for the fair's agriculture competitions are on track and comparable to other years. It is important to note that the deadline to register is not until Aug. 2 - another 3 weeks away - so we will have to assess final registration numbers at that time. Fortunately the State Fair places, accepts and stores orders for hay and wood shavings from suppliers months in advance and that has been true for this year as well. We won't know exactly until we get closer but we are hopeful to have enough for the 12 days of the fair.”
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: