Governor Burgum Pushing for a Study of Cloud Seeding

He made the request after numerous complaints from farmers and ranchers

NORTH DAKOTA — Governor Burgum is pushing for a comprehensive study of cloud seeding.

He made the request after numerous complaints from farmers and ranchers that the practice may be making drought conditions worse.

Burgum told a meeting of the state Water Commission that a lot of people think the commission is using old and insufficient data to support the program.

One of those studies was conducted between 1969 and 1972.

Six counties and a portion of a seventh participate in the state’s weather modification program, which seeds clouds with silver iodide to suppress hail and increase rainfall.

The commission took no action on Burgum’s request.