Over the past month and a half, drought conditions have been worsening in Minnesota. That’s according to State Ag Commissioner Thom Petersen. He says his department has been meeting with various state agencies monitoring the situation and evaluating which programs will be most helpful for farmers and ranchers in dealing with the drought.

He says there are a number of programs that could be helpful for producers and since the drought is widespread and has also hit South and North Dakota, contiguous counties effected could be possible for assistance.

Petersen says they’re also considering allowing an early release of emergency haying and grazing prior to the first of August.

Petersen says farmers and ranchers have been dealing with a lot of stress tied to the pandemic, low commodity prices and now most recently the drought.