FARGO (KFGO-AM) - NDSU Extension Soil Specialist Doctor Dave Franzen says while topsoil conditions in Eastern North Dakota are dry, subsoil conditions are good and despite reports to the contrary, there's no drought yet. He says the U.S. Drought Monitor is exaggerating the situation, reporting the region is in moderate drought.
Franzen says soil core samples he's taken near Fargo show the top six inches dry, but subsoil measurements 18 inches deep hit mud.
Franzen says a half inch to inch of rain is just what is needed to settle the dust and make a good seed bed.
By contrast, he says the northwest and southwest are too we in places. Franzen says the Mohall area is "one rain away from a disaster" which could prevent farmers from planting. In a field check near Belfield, a farmer spent much of the day pulling his equipment out of the mud six times.