What drought and fire do to your dirt

by Meryl Rygg McKenna

with Certified Crop Advisers

Farmers and ranchers sometimes call themselves "next-year" people, always hoping for better results next season. For many, the severe conditions of 2017 beg a better sequel.

A December 2017 drought monitor map showed much of Montana in moderate to severe drought, although Montana's northwestern corner improved since early November. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, Montana's 2017 wildfire season resulted in more than 1.25 million acres of forest, rangeland and cropland burned. Drought or fire can have significant impacts...