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on land in the Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to take land out of production to guard against erosion and create wildlife habitat -- though wetland areas are excluded. Craig Schaunaman, South Dakota director of the federal Farm Service Agency, said he is working to persuade USDA officials to approve emergency haying and grazing on those wetland areas.
• "We're still working on it here. We haven't given up on it yet," Schaunaman said when asked about the chances that haying and grazing would be allowed in wetland areas.
• Jon Farris, deputy state agriculture secretary, said officials are checking into reports that trucks hauling hay from Canada have been prevented from entering South

Dakota because the state restricts the height of such loads.
• Jay Esperance, director of the South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression Division, said some locally heavy rains helped put out some recent fires, but the fire danger will not drop until long gentle rains cover the state. Firefighters have been busy in recent weeks with dozens of fires started by lightning strikes.
• "Overall, we're still in dire straits," Esperance said.
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• USDA says SD saw some temperature relief
• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Temperatures eased slightly this past week in South Dakota, but hot and dry conditions were still prevalent across much of South Dakota.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in its weekly crop and weather report that nearly the entire state is listed in the moderate drought category. Still, there were 6.5 days for field work last week.
• The USDA says major activity included harvesting of small grains, cutting silage and cutting hay.
• Cattle conditions were rated 66 percent in the good to excellent range, while sheep conditions were rated 78 percent good to excellent.
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