2022 Wheat Harvest Affected by Summer Hailstorms and Drought

The Dakota Mill and Grain tends to be a hotspot during the summer months, and this year is no exception. Between clearing out bins, maintaining equipment, and loading up grain, harvest season in Wall undoubtedly keeps the team busy. According to manager Jerry Morgan, the winter wheat rush has since passed, with a reported overall harvest faring "better than last year's". Even so, this spring had been considerably dry, following last year's cool and dry weather, and the season's hailstorms were devastating. Morgan stated that "a lot of damage was done, and a lot of people lost plenty of acreage." 
Upon wrapping up their wheat harvest, Daryl Dartt of the Dartt Angus Partnership described the extent of the storm's destruction on their crops. "We received three nights [of hail] in a row. Around three quarters of our wheat was impacted, but only about a third was totaled," he explained. "With that, we did end up getting a lot of moisture back."  
That moisture is part of what Morgan described as delaying the harvest. High levels of humidity can often throw off crop health and storage quality. As a result, it's important to maintain a proper level of moisture when harvesting wheat.  
Aside from timing and yield, the obstacles producers faced this season also included market fluctuations. "We lost $3 on wheat," Morgan established.  
On a similar note, Dartt explained, "Everyone's having to pay more given the doubling or even tripling of the cost of fertilizer and fuel. We need those things, and when they go up, prices are going to reflect in stores."