Harvest data is rolling in from around the state, and so far, it appears to have been a bountiful year. A wet summer and dry September were especially helpful for beans, corn and livestock pastures in Wyoming, according to Rhonda Brandt with the National Agriculture Statistics Service.
“Well, the dry still can help,” she says. “If you have crops that are ready to be harvested, that nice, dry open weather makes harvest proceed quickly. And so, for corn silage and dry edible beans around the state, their harvest has progressed quite quickly through the month of September.”
But Brandt says September’s record-breaking dry, hot weather wasn’t so good for one crop: winter wheat.
“When it’s dry, the newly planted seeds have a tough time coming out of the ground and flourishing.”
Normally, more than 50% of seedlings have sprouted by now, but so far this year, only 30% have emerged. Brandt says, October’s cooler, wetter start could still help winter wheat crops recover.