Brent Oswald loads manure while his corn(behind) waits for rain

A grower southeast of Steinbach is watching the sky for that mid summer paycheck as rain would be the best thing for some of his crops right now.  Brent Oswald farms a mixed dairy and grain operation between Steinbach and La Broquerie.  He says moisture on the weekend was just enough to hold the dust down so an inch of rain would be worth about $100,000 right now.  Oswald notes the corn is doing surprisingly well if you consider the lack of moisture.  If you go out into the field and dig down there is still moisture there in most places.

Soybeans are in a similar situation.  During the day the leaves are curling up because of the heat but there is still some moisture underground.  The plants are flowering and looking above average.

Meanwhile winter wheat has been sprayed down and he should be harvesting this week.  It is looking above average.  He expects spring wheat will be desiccated next week and it is also looking average or better.  His late seeded barley looks poor and didn't handle the heat very well.  Sunflowers are also hurting for moisture as they need to fill right now and could use a good inch of rain.  Alfalfa second cut is underway.  Quality is really good but it is drying off and tonnage could be a little higher if we had some rain.  Oswald says it is the crop hurting the most right now.