SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Over the past year, we have been bringing you stories from farmers and ranchers affected by the drought. This past weekend, some of them finally got decent rainfall.

Charles Todd’s operation, near Onida, saw a little over 2 inches of rainfall this past weekend.

“It started really nice on Friday, really good slow rain and then we got some in the morning and then it kind of stalled out during the afternoon and then we got quite a bit more Friday night into Saturday,” said Todd.

Last time we took you to the Todd Ranch, we showed you the dry conditions in the pastures and fields. This rain will help the forage to green and the crops to grow.

“Now we get some warmed up temperatures and let it get a little growth and it will really help that grow up good,” said Todd. “We are going to start moving pairs to grass and getting stuff organized there probably here in the next week or two.”

Dakota Lakes Research Farm east of Pierre also experienced its first significant rainfall in a long time. While this moisture won’t end the drought, it does come at the perfect time.

“We’ve got our spring cereals all in the ground and winter wheat of course is in the ground as well and got a good chunk of our corn seeded and it was seeded into some pretty dry soils, so that will help it get germinated and get started,” said Sam Ireland, manager of Dakota Lakes Research Farm.

Not only helping the plants grow, but also making sure the herbicides have the moisture they need to work properly.

“The pre-plant herbicides that were applied in the fall and spring, those require some moisture and precipitation to get activated and in the soil,” said Ireland.

One step closer to getting out of the drought.

“It’s a real good sign I mean, it helps so much to know like I said we finally got the rain and it’s just good to see and so it makes you feel a lot better about the potential and you get to go forward,” said Todd.

The key to getting out of the drought conditions are getting consistent rains, something farmers and ranchers in Central South Dakota are optimist about.