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Northwest Missouri farmer says crops look good, for now

Photo Credit: U.S. Drought Monitor

Half of Missouri has abnormally dry to severe drought conditions, but a northwest Missouri farmer says his crops look good so far.

“It has been kind of a strange Spring where there have been rains move through but they aren’t uniform, so there are some areas that don’t get a lot of rain from these passages and other areas get quite a bit. Where I live, we are kind of in the middle.”

Richard Oswald, a 6th generation corn and soybean farmer in Atchison County, Missouri tells Brownfield he’s heard from other farmers that pastures and livestock are holding up, but things are starting to suffer.

“If we go into July now with these hundred-degree temperatures we have had in May and June then you wonder what is in store for us.”

He says the heat has caused a slight crusting issue with soybeans, a wild card year for weeds and a smaller hay crop than normal.

Oswald says even if the crops pull through the drought, trade decisions could have a bigger impact on profit.

“There’s kind of a concern as the Summer goes on, if this does turn out to be a big corn crop or a big soybean crop or both. Where will prices be this fall and how is that going to impact carry over and next year’s prices if we build surpluses because we lost in business to China?”

Thursday’s Drought Monitor put more than 50 percent of Missouri in abnormally dry to severe drought conditions. Parts of 25 counties north of the Missouri River are classified in severe drought. Parts of central and West Central Missouri are abnormally dry.

Audio: Interview with Richard Oswald 

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