Drought
NOAA officially declared El Niño on Thursday and says the climate pattern has a 63% chance of reaching “very strong” status by fall, potentially shaping U.S. weather through harvest and winter.
After a historic 10-month stretch of dryness, improving moisture conditions are helping crops and pastures, but long-term drought impacts continue to linger across parts of the High Plains and West.
Ben Rand of Blue Line Futures says an unprecedented Western drought is shrinking crops, drying up wells, tightening hay supplies and accelerating cattle herd liquidation across the region
Scottsbluff farmers face drought, low snowpack and delayed irrigation. Many are returning seed or having to pre-irrigate to get crops planted.
A historic lack of winter moisture and drying water sources are forcing Wyoming and Nebraska producers to make gut-wrenching choices. At Torrington Livestock Markets, sales volume has surged to nine times its normal seasonal average.
Meteorologist Eric Snodgrass says warmer Pacific waters - not just El Niño - could drive a wetter, stormier summer across much of the Midwest and central U.S.
Beyond the flames, Nebraska ranchers face a “short-term decision for a long-term problem” as the loss of grass and fences threatens the future of the industry.
Farmers in parts of the High Plains and Southeast need a break from relentless drought, while nationwide planting progress is outpacing the five-year average.