Drought continues to take a toll on crops in eastern South Dakota. Chester area farmer Keith Alverson says conditions deteriorated through late July and early August as D2 drought expanded across the region. “We get an occasional shower that passes through, but nothing substantial enough” to keep crops going, Alverson said. He believes late rain could still help soybeans, but corn may be past the point of returning to average yield potential. Dry conditions are also contributing to pest pressure. Alverson says spider mites are showing up in soybeans along with a growing number of aphids, making field-by-field scouting increasingly important.
