SDSU Extension is resuming its virtual “Drought Hour” educational program series today (May 10).
Drought Hour will be held May 10, 17 and 24 from 11am-noon CST.
SDSU Extension specialists will provide participants with information to stay ahead of drought impacts with climate updates, business insights and the latest research-tested management tips for farms, ranches and properties of all sizes.
The May Drought Hour webinars will cover the following topics:
May 10: “Weathering the Storm in Agriculture: How to Cultivate a Productive Mindset,” Krista Ehlert, Assistant Professor and SDSU Extension Range Specialist, and Heather Gessner, SDSU Extension Livestock Business Management Field Specialist
May 17: “Drought Mitigation: Fire and Forage,” Jessalyn Bachler, SDSU Extension Range Field Specialist, and Sara Bauder, SDSU Extension Agronomy Field Specialist
Eric Westervelt/NPR
toggle caption Eric Westervelt/NPR
Owner and founder Jeff Smith in front of what remains of Hourglass winery and processing facility in Napa. He s rebuilding, but wildfires have him re-thinking everything about his land and business. Eric Westervelt/NPR
After one of the most destructive and extreme wildfire seasons in modern history last year, a widening drought across California and much of the West has many residents bracing for the possibility this season could be worse.
Anemic winter rain and snowfall has left reservoirs and river flows down significantly, even as the state experiences its driest water year in more than four decades. Today, wildfire fuels in some parts of California are at or near record levels of dryness.
Deepening Drought Holds ‘Ominous’ Signs For Wildfire Threat In The West
By Eric Westervelt
May 6, 2021
After one of the most destructive and extreme wildfire seasons in modern history last year, a widening drought across California and much of the West has many residents bracing for the possibility this season could be worse.
Anemic winter rain and snowfall has left reservoirs and river flows down significantly, even as the state experiences its driest water year in more than four decades. Today, wildfire fuels in some parts of California are at or near record levels of dryness.
Fuel moisture the amount of water inside a living plant “is the lowest that we’ve recorded at these sites since 2013,” says Craig Clements, director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San Jose State University. “It’s indicative of very dangerous conditions coming into this summer.”
AccuWeather says expect a wet, chilly Mothers Day weekend in the KELO Radio listening area By Todd Epp
May 6, 2021 12:13 PM
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) AccuWeather meteorologists have been monitoring a potent storm expected to move through the northwestern United States late this week before it eyes the central U.S. The system is forecast to produce a narrow zone of drenching rain in the Midwest with the risk of severe thunderstorms igniting farther south during Mother’s Day weekend.
The storm is expected to move slowly but steadily eastward from the Plains Saturday to the Ohio Valley on Mother’s Day. The exact track of the storm will determine the north and south extent of the rain.
The first time Vince and Allison Bolduc made maple syrup, they tapped a few maples around their home using hand-me-down taps, hung milk jugs from the trees and lugged the sap back to their driveway to boil it. Their outdoor stove was constructed out of an old doorless dishwasher tipped on its back, fastened with a smokestack made from old pipes and a scrap door for the fire.
More than ten years later, the pair are seasoned hobbyist sugarmakers. They now have about 120 metal buckets and the dishwasher has since died; in its place sits an evaporator in a small sugarhouse they built by hand at their South Burlington home.