Washington DC (Northwestiowanow.com) — The only perceptible change in Thursday’s update of the USDA Drought monitor is a few townships along the Mississippi River slipping into the D-Zero “Abnormally Dry” category, otherwise the 30 percent of the state experiencing dry conditions is all in Northwest Iowa.

Clay, Emmet, Buena Vista, Cherokee, and virtually all of O’Brien County are in the D-One “Moderate Drought” category. Portions of Dickinson, Pocahontas, and a very small sliver of Osceola County are seeing D-one “Moderate Drought” with the remainder of the KICD Broadcast area “Abnormally Dry.”

One of the few benefits of a dry summer has been an absence of plant disease and mold.