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Minnesota farmers hope for rain after dry start to June

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Minnesota farmers hope for rain after dry start to June


Farmers are keeping a close watch on the weather forecasts, hoping for rain. Though June is off to a dry start, they say it’s not time to panic just yet.

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Ellyn Oelfke, a board director with the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, said weather is the one thing she can’t control on her farm, which is in between Green Isle and Hamburg.

“It really looks like a promising crop. However, we’re starting to see some drought stress happening on our plants. So ultimately, we just really need rain. And we missed the rain yesterday,” said Oelfke, the owner of HyTest Ag.

She farms in Sibley County with her husband and his family, who are sixth generation farmers. They farm corn and soybeans using no-till and cover-crop practices. They were happy with the conditions in mid-May when they planted their seeds, but it’s been a tough start to June.

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“It’s been a few weeks now since we’ve gotten rain … where we’re at in Sibley County,” Oelfke said.

It’s a similar story with Scott County farmers, Mike Seifert Jr. and his dad, Mike Seifert Sr., who co-own Ravenview Farm. They also use no-till and cover-crop practices. They kept their eyes on the skies Saturday as rain came down in other parts of the Metro.

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“It amounted to less than a 10th of an inch (of rain here), so it wasn’t what we were hoping for,” said Seifert Jr.

Seifert Sr. said the spring looked promising after the snow melt earlier in the year on their farm south of Jordan. Then, the heat set in. It was tough to watch after the droughts in 2021 and 2022.

“These last two years now and going into the third year is just unprecedented,” he said. 

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“In both of those years, we got rain until about the middle of June,” added Seifert Jr. “The difference this year is that it has pretty much stopped raining in the middle of May, which makes things a lot tougher because you plant crops in May and they haven’t had that chance to really get established. Once they’re established, they can handle the dry weather better.”

Their corn and bean plants are suffering right now, but they said having more diversified crops is proving beneficial right now. They also grow alfalfa hay to make high-quality horse hay.

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The Seiferts describe themselves as “glass half-full” kind of people. They believe it’s still early enough in the season that their crops can make a comeback.

“If we could pick up a 2-inch rain here soon, that would help turn things around. There’s still plenty of time for that, hopefully,” Seifert Jr. said.

Farmers across Minnesota will also be crossing their fingers.

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“If we don’t see the rain that we need within the next few weeks to a month, we’ll start to see the crop kind of dry and shrivel up. So it won’t mature like we need it to, to get us to fall harvest time,” Oelfke said.

Oelfke said even though last year was a drought year, it was still a good year for her, with an above average yield. So she’s hoping that will be the case again this year.



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Cardinals-Vikings Unveil Thursday Injury Report

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Cardinals-Vikings Unveil Thursday Injury Report


ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings released their Thursday injury reports ahead of their Week 13.

The Cardinals saw Kelvin Beachum upgraded from DNP to Full after his rest day.

Emari Demercado (back), Darius Robinson (ankle), Jalen Thompson (ankle) and Jonah Williams (shoulder) all were limited for a second straight day.

It’s a fairly light injury report for the Cardinals, who again saw key defenders practice for a consecutive day – a potentially good sign for players such as Thompson and Robinson.

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As for the Vikings:

DNP – Josh Oliver (wrist/ankle), Jay Ward (elbow)

Limited – Patrick Jones (knee), Cam Robinson (foot) and Andrew Van Ginkel (thigh)

Full – Harrison Phillips (rest), Jonathan Bullard (toe), Kamu Grugier-Hill (shoulder), Brandon Powell (ankle),

Phillips, Bullard, Grugier-Hill and Powell all saw upgrades in their practice status.

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The Cardinals’ playoff chances again can sway either way for the squad with a win/loss in Minnesota, you can read more about their odds here.

Arizona stumbled out of their bye week against the Seattle Seahawks, and the Cardinals know defeating the Vikings on the road is a tall task.

“It goes back to the makeup of this team. We understand and ‘JG’ (Head Coach Jonathan Gannon) does a great job. After the game, I know he’s probably feeling the same way we feel, right? But at the end of the day, the message is we have to be ready for next week,” Kyler Murray said when asked about rebounding.

“We can’t let one turn into two, two turn into three. We have to get right back on the horse and keep going and the guys understand that. We’ve done a good job of bouncing back and we get another opportunity to go out there this weekend and do that again.”



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Four Minnesota Twins Stats to be Thankful For

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Four Minnesota Twins Stats to be Thankful For


In a year headlined by the Pohlads’ frugality, broadcasting issues, and a historic collapse, we often need the reminder that the Twins were a playoff-caliber club for more than two-thirds of the season. You aren’t a playoff contender without players who are producing at exceptional rates, as compared to the rest of the league. Let’s look at four(ish) statistics that stood out across the league for our local club.

Matt Wallner’s Power
Matt Wallner is a power player on both sides of the ball, with a 98th percentile exit velocity (EV) and 99th percentile arm strength. While we need to see considerable improvement in Wallner’s contact rate, the lefty hits the snot out of the ball when he makes contact, boasting elite hard-hit rates. With a 93 mile-per-hour average EV and a 116.8 mile-per-hour maximum, the lefty mashed 13 home runs in only 220 at-bats in 2024. His hardest-hit ball was “just” a single, but his second-hardest was this 116.7 MPH scorcher over the right-field fence at Guaranteed Rate Field.

And then there was the behemoth off Griffin Canning.

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On the other side of the ball, Wallner might grade out as a below-average right fielder, but he has one of the best arms in the game. Runners need to tread lightly (er, quickly? Tread not at all?) when they’re thinking about extra bases on a ball hit to Wallner, as he shows off an arm that produced a maximum velocity of 101.2 MPH and an average velocity (on competitive throws) of 96.9. On Aug. 30, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Spencer Horwitz learned this this hard way.

Byron Buxton’s Speed
Twins fans are very aware of Buxton’s speed, and while we’d love to see it employed more on the basepaths, it’s helped him remain one of the best centerfielders in the game. His Sprint Speed and Outs Above Average (OAA) both sit in the 97th percentile in all of baseball, and his best catch of the season was this liner off the bat of Los Angeles Dodgers Teoscar Hernandez, which had a 35% catch probability.

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Nothin’ but raindrops, folks.

Griffin Jax’s Stuff
While rumors swirl regarding Jax’s ability to be a starter, he has cemented himself as one of the best relievers in baseball, with a bevy of statistics that sit in the 90th percentile of the league or better. Most notably, his chase rate (99th percentile), whiff rate (98th), and strikeout rate (97th) lead to some of the best actual and expected stats in the majors. Sure, the highlight below is from Spring Training, but my oh my did he send the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Tsung-Che Cheng back to medieval times with this sweeper.

Joe Ryan’s Command
The Twins really missed Joe Ryan down the stretch, in large part due to his ability to control and command the strike zone. With a 96th percentile walk rate and a 98th percentile expected OBP, Ryan limited free passes better than nearly anyone in baseball – an important attribute when you don’t have traditionally overpowering stuff. His ability to live on the edge of the strike zone doesn’t just limit walks. It also limits a hitter’s quality of contact, resulting in better-than-average exit velocities and hard-hit rates for the righty.

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There’s plenty more to be thankful for this season, and it gives us plenty to look forward to as the calendar inches toward 2025. One thing is for certain: No matter what happens with the team on the field in 2025, we here at Twins Daily are thankful for the owners, editors, content creators, and readers that make this all possible. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate—and cheers, all the same, to those who don’t!

What are YOU thankful for this year?

 



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Minnesota hosts Los Angeles following Harden’s 43-point game

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Minnesota hosts Los Angeles following Harden’s 43-point game


Associated Press

Los Angeles Clippers (12-8, sixth in the Western Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (8-10, 12th in the Western Conference)

Minneapolis; Friday, 7:30 p.m. EST

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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Timberwolves -5.5; over/under is 217.5

BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles visits the Minnesota Timberwolves after James Harden scored 43 points in the Clippers’ 121-96 win over the Washington Wizards.

The Timberwolves are 5-7 against Western Conference opponents. Minnesota is sixth in the Western Conference at limiting opponent scoring, allowing only 111.3 points while holding opponents to 47.2% shooting.

The Clippers are 7-7 against Western Conference opponents. Los Angeles is sixth in the Western Conference scoring 50.2 points per game in the paint led by Ivica Zubac averaging 13.7.

The Timberwolves average 15.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.2 more made shots on average than the 12.9 per game the Clippers give up. The Clippers average 109.3 points per game, 2.0 fewer than the 111.3 the Timberwolves allow to opponents.

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TOP PERFORMERS: Julius Randle is averaging 21.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Timberwolves.

Harden is averaging 21.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.6 steals for the Clippers.

LAST 10 GAMES: Timberwolves: 3-7, averaging 110.2 points, 41.6 rebounds, 22.6 assists, 9.5 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.7 points per game.

Clippers: 6-4, averaging 110.1 points, 46.3 rebounds, 25.4 assists, 10.0 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.6 points.

INJURIES: Timberwolves: Joe Ingles: day to day (soleus).

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Clippers: Kobe Brown: day to day (back), Kawhi Leonard: out (knee), P.J. Tucker: out (personal), Norman Powell: day to day (hamstring).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




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