This map doesn't show it yet, but the dry weather is affecting the Black Hills area as well. The dry weather is having a dramatic effect in the cornfields near Hermosa.   And even the irrigated corn in the Belle Fourche River valley is showing the effects of the heat.  The drought is driving up grain prices. Wheat is up 35 percent in the last month.  Corn is up 26 percent.  There were ominous signs during the first months of spring that this might turn into a bad year for crops.  The warm weather in March set records all over the country.   And now, the last twelve month period in the U.S. has turned out to be the hottest on record, according to the National Climate Data Center.  The effect on grain prices could be very dramatic indeed if the situation continues.  The dry weather isn't effecting just grain farmers. The hay crop is thin at best, and ranchers say grazing lands are in very rough shape.  The situation is bad enough that the Pennington County Board of Commissioners will probably ask the Secretary of Agriculture to declare the county a disaster area on Tuesday.

Al Van Zee