How will our dry winter impact farmers?

NEAR MITCHELL, S.D (KELO) — Multiple wildfires broke out across South Dakota this weekend due to a mix of dry and windy conditions.

It’s been an unusually dry winter.

“I know the recent drought monitor that I just checked, the entire state is in some form of drought,” South Dakota Soybean Association treasurer Brent Greenway said.

Over the last couple days, fire crews have been busy on the west side of South Dakota, the southeast part of the state and some places in between, like a field west of Mitchell. Greenway farms nearby.

“Just with these windy, dry conditions, it’s kind of like a tinderbox just waiting to go up,” Greenway said.

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It’s something that could be concerning.

“If there’s fires ready to take off, there’s just no topsoil moisture there to help slow things down, and that concerns you going into planting season,” Greenway said.

Ben Klumb of Klumb Land and Cattle shares the same sentiment.

“It’s scary for everybody. Fires are something you can’t control. People build their farms for generations, and it could all change,” Klumb said.

However, there’s still time to receive some much-needed moisture, so both farmers aren’t hitting the panic button yet.

“We do need moisture as it comes into the springtime for spring planting, but we still have March and April to get there yet, so I’m not super nervous yet,” Klumb said.

“Harvest is a long ways off, but as farmers, we are eternal optimists. You never plant a crop thinking that it’s going to fail,” Greenway said.

Greenway says the worst drought conditions are in the southwest portion of the state.