Drought
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.
Missouri Farmer Discovers Startling Reality of Drought: Entire Cornfields Never Pollinated This Year
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.