LENNOX, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – As the Midwest continues to experience a heatwave, more than just the weather is contributing to dangerous temperatures.
Corn sweat is the result of evapotranspiration, the process by which plants absorb water from the soil and release it into the atmosphere through their leaves. While it’s common to occur in the Midwest, it can also exacerbate the current heatwave as temperatures across the state are in the 80s and 90s and farmers still need to care for their crops.
“If it was extended periods of heat, the corn is going into a defensive mode, and the leaves will curl up,” said Dave Poppens, a corn and soybean farmer. “To some people, it would call it like a pineapple effect on the corn where the leaves will curl up and it will look real pointed. We rely just on rainfall here. So we’re at the mercy of whenever the rain does come or does not come.”
One acre of corn can release 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of water per day into the air.
“Think of like the corn stalk as a straw and on these really hot and muggy days, like, we need water, they need water too,” said Tyler Roney, a meteorologist with Dakota News Now. “It’s almost like they’re trying to get more of that water up. And so on days like this, when it’s very, very hot, it needs more of that moisture. So that’s why it’s releasing more of it, too, as it’s using that kind of like as a straw.”
As a generational farmer, Dave Poppens has experienced his fair share of challenges in agriculture and is fully aware of the current ones in today’s climate.
“It’s just the unknown about if we’re going to get that rain, if the prices, what are the prices going to do, and then the unknown with the war in Iran going on has caused our input costs to go up a lot this year,” said Poppens. “So there’s many variables involved when you try and protect yourself the best we can. We have crop insurance in case there was a drought.”
Despite the fact that the hot conditions are expected to remain throughout the rest of the growing season, Poppens believes his farm will make it through until the end.
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