Latest News From Drought

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows drought coverage is now at its lowest level since spring of 2020, but USDA's topsoil moisture map shows it's still extremely dry in areas of the west and too wet in the east.

Two consecutive years of drought has been devastating for farmers in West Texas, and with forecasts of a transition to La Niña, economists and cotton leaders say it will force even more cotton farmers to call it quits.

It’s been said high-yielding corn needs 25" of moisture per acre per year. In 2023, when Mother Nature didn't cooperate, management strategies to retain moisture coupled with new traits made a difference at harvest.

Before heading to the field to apply anhydrous, firm up what crop you're going to plant. Growers have been kicking around the idea of going beans-on-beans, given the markets. But anhydrous essentially ties you to corn.

Jim Rothermich of Iowa Appraisals shares what he expects from land values in the year ahead.

“Our goal is simple: use traits to help plants grow deeper roots,” says Cquesta CEO Michael Ott.

While you can't make Mother Nature send rain, you can review crop-rotation restrictions on chemistries you applied last year. Knowing that information can guide what crop you plant where this spring.

Major winter storms are on the way early next week. With the possibility of blizzard conditions to flooding in the southeast, the impact on agriculture could be two-fold: good news for drought but stress to livestock.

Brazil is seeing a sudden shift in weather with heavy rains now forecasted over the next two weeks. While it will bring relief to drought areas, it could cause harvest delays and issues planting the safrinha corn crop. 

From the intense heat in the South to drought blanketing much of the U.S., weather stole headlines again in 2023. What caused such extreme conditions? One meteorologist explains the culprits of the heat and drought.

West Texas is the largest cotton production area in the country, but after battling drought and heat, area farmers say the dryland crop is a failure, and the irrigated acres are only yielding half of normal.

Despite weather concerns sprouting in Brazil, USDA didn’t make any major adjustments to the South American crop in Friday's reports. Increased demand from China and Mexico prompted USDA to trim U.S. ending stocks.

AgResource Company forecasts 80% of the soybean crop is planted as of today, but for some farmers it's been a year of replant for both corn and soybeans.

The Panama Canal is now cutting its daily ship transits by half this winter due to severe drought.

If your combine monitor is showing a wide range of yields in the field, Ken Ferrie says to investigate. Evaluate soybean stand, pod set and bean size while there’s agronomic evidence.

USDA's weekly crop progress report shows harvest progress slightly behind average for corn and soybeans.

As extreme weather events affect the profitability of agriculture, here are four areas to bring focus to the ripple effect.

Restrictions are in place at the Panama Canal to conserve water - creating a backlog of ships waiting to pass.

It’s game time says Soy Transportation Coalition executive director Mike Steenhoek, and key waterway infrastructure systems are not ready. 

A heat dome will consume the Plains and Mississippi Valley into the South this week with "oppressive and dangerous conditions" expected at least through midweek, the National Weather Service reported early Monday.

After record low water levels on many of the major rivers used for export movement in 2022, agriculture could see a repeat this fall.

An ongoing lack of water and volatile prices bring heightened focus on fertilizer and nutrient management. They are critical components to creating a more resilient ag production system, says one industry agronomist.   

What’s often called the “white combine” is hammering western Kansas this year, an ugly reality for an area that’s finally receiving rain after nearly five years of drought.

John Phipps says there are signs that water is the new oil as water rights turn into water fights across the western U.S. He thinks it's a battle that could only heat up in the coming years.

Drought is creating a dreary outlook for Missouri farmers, but it wasn’t until mid-July that some realized just how bad it was. Farmers in pockets of severe drought now say they have widespread pollination problems.

Farmers can use humidity charts for their area to assess when the disease could hit their corn crop as well as the optimum time to make a fungicide application, says Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Associate Field Agronomist.

With heat forecast to top 100 degrees in places, combined with the expectation for little to no rain, crop conditions could deteriorate and the biggest risk in the western and central Corn Belt.

Despite rains the last couple of weeks in parts of the Corn Belt the latest drought monitor shows drought continues to grip a huge part of the Midwest, including Nebraska>

In eastern Kansas and Missouri, harvest is happening at a historic pace, but western Kansas is overcome by so much rain that winter wheat fields are now overgrown by weeds making those fields unharvestable.

The National Drought Mitigation Center estimates 67% of corn and 60% of soybeans are still considered to be in drought, a slight improvement from last week when drought covered 70% of corn and 63% of soybeans.

Flattened corn can often recover, stand and produce decent yields. Soybeans can shake off a storm and flourish, but beware spider mites in the next 10 days if temperatures stay 85-plus degrees with low humidity.

Hurricane-force winds swept from northern Missouri and Iowa all the way east to Illinois and Indiana. The derecho brought wind gusts up to 100 mph, flattening cornfields, but it also drenched soils with crucial rains.

Even with rains sweeping the Northern Corn Belt last weekend, the latest drought monitor shows drought continues to spread across Illinois with D2 (Severe Drought) taking a 28-point jump in a week.

Despite weekend rains sweeping the northern Corn Belt, corn and soybean conditions sit at the second-lowest level in history. Sizable declines hit key areas of the Corn Belt as corn enters a critical time for production.

Corn prices sunk as forecasts turned more optimistic for the weekend rains in the northern Corn Belt. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says the rains aren't enough to change the potential production problems in Illinois.

Drought is deepening across the Midwest with 64% of the corn crop and 57% of the soybean crop across the U.S. now covered in drought, a sizable jump in just a week after NASS showed a historic drop in condition ratings.

Illinois crop ratings have dropped like a rock with only 33% of soybeans and 36% of corn rated good to excellent in this week's USDA crop progress report.

The updated drought monitor indicates dryness will continue to expand across eastern Missouri, eastern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

November soybeans shot up $1 in just two days. The December corn contract skyrocketed 50 cents during the time. Drought and dryness concerns are fueling the grain markets, is it only weather impacting prices?

Drought continues to deepen its grip across the Corn Belt, with Iowa and Illinois seeing large jumps in the moderate and severe drought categories. Now, more of the U.S. corn and soybean crop is covered in drought.

Last week, 34% of the U.S. corn crop was covered in drought, and this week it jumped to 45%. The second crop conditions ratings of the season from USDA-NASS confirmed dryness is starting to deteriorate crop conditions.

After consecutive years of drought, some areas of Texas are now breaking records for the wettest May ever. With most of their crop left to plant, it's forcing farmers to make some tough decisions and crop changes.

Much of the eastern Corn Belt is currently experiencing drought. Dry conditions have been parked in the western region even longer. Low subsoil moisture is a concern, and short-term dryness is compounding the issue.

The U.S. Drought Monitor says 26% of corn acres, 20% of soybean acres and 47% of winter wheat acres are in drought. The wheat crop has little chance of revival, but corn and soybeans have a long runway ahead of them.

Seven U.S. states along the drought-starved Colorado River have reached a deal with the Biden administration to conserve water in a "historic consensus" to prevent supply problems for big cities as well as farmers.

The 2023 Wheat Quality Council’s Wheat Tour across Kansas found low yields and higher abandonment than what USDA currently has penciled in with one economist on tour warning abandonment could climb even higher.

The signs of El Niño grew even strong this month, and as the weather event looks to make its grand return, significant weather changes could be on deck for U.S. farmers this year. 

Farmers made significant headway in planting progress last week. USDA shows nearly half of the country’s corn crop is planted and 35% of the soybean crop is now in the ground. There are several states setting records.

Farmers in the Southern Plains are finally starting to see much-needed moisture hit their fields. It may be too late for winter wheat, but it’s a hopeful sign for those needing the rain to even plant summer crops.

The Corn Belt will see a cooler weather pattern set in, and parts of the parched Plains will see higher chances of rain during the next couple of weeks, according to Eric Snodgrass of Nutrien Ag Solutions.