SD Mesonet, SD Wheat bring weather station to West River Research Farm

BROOKINGS, S.D. – The South Dakota Mesonet has installed a new weather station at the West River Research Farm near Sturgis with the support of the South Dakota Wheat Commission.

The South Dakota Mesonet is a statewide network of 29 sponsor-supported weather stations operated by South Dakota State University. Live weather reports are available to the public at https://mesonet.sdstate.edu.

The stations report more than just basic weather. The Mesonet stations serve South Dakotans in a variety of capacities including:

Frost depth and thaw depth reports

Recordkeeping for pesticide applicators, including inversion detection

Soil moisture data for drought monitoring and flood forecasting

Soil temperature for planting and nitrogen application decisions

Crop water demand

Improved National Weather Service forecasts and severe weather alerts

“This partnership will bring benefits to producers beyond the Sturgis area,” said Nathan Edwards, Mesonet Director at SDSU. “Located at the university’s newest field station, these university research farms are really the R&D department of the state’s largest industry of agriculture.”

“We’re glad the South Dakota Wheat Commission is supporting this critical element of quality research by supporting the installation of this newest SD Mesonet station.”

–SDSU Extension