Minnesota Ag Commissioner Warns Drought Will Cut Crop Yields
Key Takeaways
- •Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen warned that drought is damaging the state's corn and soybean crops as the season ends.
- •Nearly all of Minnesota is classified as abnormally dry to extreme drought in the latest U.S. Drought Monitor.
- •The commissioner expects southern Minnesota to produce a decent crop, but yields across the rest of the state will be down considerably.
- •August is a critical period for soybean pod fill and corn kernel development, making late-season moisture shortages a yield factor.
- •Minnesota is among the nation's top corn- and soybean-producing states, so its yield losses are tracked by USDA estimates and grain buyers beyond the state.
A dry August is raising concerns across Minnesota as corn and soybean crops approach maturity.
Thom Petersen, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, told Brownfield that the state's two major row crops are struggling as drought conditions intensify.
"Unfortunately it's going south fast. I think as we saw with the Drought Monitor, central Minnesota is just drying up. We're seeing that drought slip into southern Minnesota and can touch some of the yields a little bit here at the end as we're trying to finish that crop off here," Petersen said.
He described the next two weeks as critical for some farmers.
"We'll have a decent crop in southern Minnesota, but the rest of the state is going to be down quite a bit. Which is unfortunate because man we started out nice," he said.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly all of Minnesota listed as abnormally dry to extreme drought. The Drought Monitor, a joint product of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is the standard weekly assessment of drought conditions across the United States.
Corn and soybeans are Minnesota's leading cash crops, and August is a key period for soybean pod fill and corn kernel development, making late-season moisture shortages a factor in final yields. Minnesota is one of the top corn- and soybean-producing states in the country, so weather-driven yield losses there are tracked in USDA crop production estimates and by grain buyers well beyond the state.
Brownfield interviewed Petersen Thursday at the Minnesota State Fair. The interview is part of Brownfield's 2026 State Fair coverage.
Source: Brownfield Ag News
