The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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July 17, 2008

Corn soaks up timely rain

By Dan Linehan

MANKATO — Until Thursday, Mankato was one of the driest spots in the state, nearly 4 inches below average during the past 30 days.

But that exceptionally opportune rainfall bolstered corn as the crops move into their reproductive stage. Mankato received about 2 inches of rain, and Waseca almost 41⁄2 inches.

“I think it came at a beautiful time,” said Alvis More, a retired farmer who now lives near Pemberton. His sons, Steve and Jeff, now tend the farm between St. Clair and Pemberton.

Steve More said his farm received about 23⁄4 inches.

It’s important for corn because the plant is starting to shoot tassels, which pollinate the crop.

And when corn is stressed from a drought, pollination occurs unevenly and some kernels go unfertilized. But More said the rain should ensure a good pollination.

“I betcha tomorrow morning you’ll see tassels pokin’ through,” he said.

Gyles Randall, a professor and soil scientist in Waseca, said crops there had received only 1.3 inches of rain during the past 35 days, causing a drop in soil moisture.

But despite the heavy downfall — 4 inches fell in about two hours — the storm had only small hail and probably didn’t damage crops much.

Barry Kuhlmann of Good Thunder saw a tornado touch down for about 10 seconds outside of Amboy.

It was just “enough time to knock some corn down and some things like that, and it was back up in the sky again, then it just dissipated, disappeared,” he said.

The National Weather Service had a report of the tornado but couldn’t confirm it as such Thursday.

Heavy spring rains had left crops sated for part of June, but the extra rain was still welcome.

“We didn’t need 4 inches, but with the present tiling systems and being as dry as it was out there, it isn’t going to be nearly as bad as if this happened six weeks ago,” Randall said.

Soybeans were thirsty, too, though the rain didn’t come at a critical point as it did for corn.

While a Waseca observer reported 4.44 inches of rain, other areas received much less, said Mike Bardou, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

There was a heavy north-sound band of rain extending between New Ulm and Hanska, and another heavy band near Pemberton and western Waseca County, he said.

In thunderstorms like this, rainfall can vary widely over as tiny a distance as a few blocks, Bardou said.

“The rain was a timely rain,” Steve More said. “We needed it, within a week or so we were really going to be looking for that rain.”

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