Agronomist Sarah Lovas is not concerned about drought conditions near Hillsboro yet. “South of Hillsboro, our last six inch rain was the second week in August. We have a lot of subsoil moisture. We will need rains to help the crop emerge.” Further north in the Red River Valley, there are moderate drought conditions. Saint Thomas farmer Allen Tucker says the last one-inch rain happened in July. “We lacked moisture last fall, during the winter and now, we’re nervous about the spring. We are most concerned about sugarbeets, because we plant them the shallowest. They suffer if we plant the seed deeper than 1.25 inches. We at least need adequate soil moisture at the end of April or early May.”
