Minnesota Crop News

By Angie Peltier and Liz Stahl, crops educators, Jodi DeJong-Hughes, water quality educator and Gary Wyatt, natural resources educator, UMN Extension    Throughout much of western Minnesota on May 12, 14 and 15, 2026, dry soils recently disturbed by spring tillage and other field operations combined with sustained 25 to 35 mph winds -gusting as high as 55 mph- led to a staggering loss of topsoil.    One video taken by SWCD staff in western Polk County, MN, illustrates that topsoil loss from Red River Valley fields significantly reduced visibility ( Video 1 ). Shocking soil losses were observed in parts of southern MN as well, with visibility being reduced to almost zero on Highway 15 on the Brown County/Watonwan County line, in a  video recorded by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office on May 12.     Video 1.  This video, taken in Polk County, MN shows poor visibility due to wind-eroded soil. Photo credit: Morgan Torkelson, West-Polk, Minnesota Soil ...

This is the first small grains disease & pest update of the 2026 growing season.  The scouts are receiving their training this week and will start their weekly routes next week.  Meanwhile, warmer-than-average daytime high temperatures are pushing crop development, and the earliest-seeded spring wheat, spring barley, and oats are already at the heading stage across the southern third of the state.  That means it's time to make fungicide decisions to suppress Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) and control any other fungal diseases that may be present.  Leaf wetness duration is key to allowing fungal infections to take hold.   The latest US Drought Monitor , issued yesterday,  has much of Minnesota classified as abnormally dry or in a moderate drought.  While the drought monitor does not tell whether dews stay around long enough to reach the minimum leaf wetness durations, the current map is somewhat informative if you overlay the NDSU Small Grain Disea...

This article was written by Rob Proulx, Extension ag technology and grain systems specialist, North Dakota State University. Delta T might not be a familiar concept to those outside of the more arid western Minnesota; read on to see why this metric might be one to pay attention to, particularly when spray timing corresponds with conditions of high temperatures and low relative humidity. The ‘ND Delta T’ forecast website is currently available for the 2026 season and now includes maps for Minnesota. To access this site, go to ndawn.info , then navigate to Agriculture, Ag Tools, Delta-T Forecast ( Figure 1 ).   Figure 1. Navigating to the Delta T forecast site through NDAWN.info. Delta T describes the evaporative capacity of the ambient air – the higher the value, the drier the air and the greater its evaporative capacity. When Delta T values exceed 14 °F, excessive spray droplet desiccation and spray deposit evaporation may result in reduced herbicide efficacy. Impacts wil...