Drought conditions have continued to spread across South Dakota over the past few weeks. The most recent drought monitor shows that more than 90 percent of state is experiencing abnormally dry conditions and drought. This has brought increased hardship for South Dakota producers. Many livestock producers are reducing their herd size or making plans to do so this fall. Crops are also suffering, particularly South Dakota’s wheat crop. The U.S. Drought Monitor provides a weekly snap shot of what conditions on the ground look like. There have been some frustrations over the past couple of weeks about the accuracy of the drought monitor. As with most of the technological tools producers use, the Drought Monitor is only as good as the data used to build it. As…