Heat damages crops

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Evidence of the fabled "dog days of summer" was all over town Monday, as the city's normally busy sidewalks stayed quiet when many stayed home in air-conditioned comfort.

However, evening thunderstorms blew through New Ulm, dumping significant amounts of rainfall in a short time.

The recent trend of hot, dry weather continued Monday as temperatures reached a high of 94 degrees with a heat index of 107, causing concerns about power and water usage and worries about damage to crops.

The heat came Saturday after months of cool, dry summer weather and is expected to cool down on Wednesday.

The record high for Monday was set in 1934, when the mercury climbed to 102 degrees. The average high for this time in August is about 84 degrees. The record low of 42 degrees was reached in 1944 and 1977.

New Ulm city officials said they have no immediate plans to issue a sprinkling ban. However, one could come if the heat trend continues. Such bans are already in effect in some parts of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

An operator in the city electrical plant said the Public Utilities Commission of New Ulm saw its highest demand for electrical power this year on Monday. He said the demand simply meant that the plant had to use extra machinery in order to meet the demand.

According to Lonnie Spaeth, weather observer for the National Weather Service, Monday was the hottest day of the year -- so far.

The dry weather is also has farmers concerned about their crops.

Bruce Potter, an integrated pest management specialist for the University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center in Lamberton, said the recent weather brings two concerns for crops. He said corn and soybeans need hot weather to grow, but when the temperature passes a certain level, corn starts to conserve water and so it doesn't grow like it should.

The heat trend doesn't affect soybeans as much as corn because soybeans have already passed their peak flowering stages, Potter said.

Lack of rainfall is the second of Potter's concerns. He said having hotter temperatures is fine as long as they're accompanied by rain. If no rain comes for a while, the soil runs out of moisture and plants can start to die.

"We're sort of past the point of no return right now," Potter said. "It's been too dry for too long."

Potter and Wayne Schoper, Brown County Extension Service educator, both said the damage done by the weather seems evenly spread throughout the area.

Schoper, who was making visits to farms Monday, said the area was looking at a bumper crop for corn and soybeans until the hot weather arrived.

Schoper said the recent warm-up reminded him of the 1988 drought, which also cut crop yield expectations in half.

"This is as bad as it's been since 1988," he said. "It's a tough situation because there's no rain in the forecast."