Drought

The western half of the country continues to see little moisture, and after a year of record government payments to agriculture, farm groups fear financial assistance this year will be tough to get passed in Washington.

U.S. farmers are facing a changing scenario this year. From wet conditions impeding planting in 2020, to now drought concerns creeping in, one analyst thinks weather could be a major market mover in 2021.

Loss and risk are an assumption in farming; devastation is not. Crops in the Dakotas and Montana are baking on an anvil of severe drought and extreme heat, as growers and ranchers make difficult decisions regarding cattle, corn and wheat.

Study: Montana’s average temperature continues to increase

Minnesota company, Plains farm aid group set up hay convoy

Nine months have passed since wildfires charred parts of the central and southern Plains during a three-day span of furious fire. Now, a proposed disaster relief package may offer more help to ranchers in need. The House recently unveiled a disaster aid plan to help cover some of the cost of hurricanes and wildfires the country faced in 2017. House Republicans are releasing an $81 billion disaster aid package, funding that’s nearly twice the request the White House made. The money could be split between a host of federal agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Agriculture. AgDay national reporter Betsy Jibben looks at how producers in Kansas and Oklahoma are recovering and still rebuilding. She talks with Dr. Randall Spare, a veterinarian from the Ashland Veterinary Center, and producers Jenny Betschart in Ashland, Kansas and Bernie Smith in Beaver County, Oklahoma.

Farmers in the northern Plains are well aware of the dry conditions, and now they have to resort to drastic measures in order to deal with eroding conditions that are destroying crops and pastures.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R-SD) has declared a statewide emergency because of the ongoing drought conditions in his state.

Dryness is intensifying in the northern Plains, and cattlemen and grain markets are responding.

Since the beginning of the year, the national drought picture has dramatically improved, but there are still problem areas in parts of the central and southern Plains.

Lower feed costs, record meat prices and an easing drought point to expansion in the U.S. cattle industry.

The nation hasn’t seen such a small beef cow herd in decades. Now many producers who survived the recent drought are focused on rebuilding. The question is, how long will it take?

Drought is starting to recede in many of the top beef producing states.

Weather will dictate if the U.S. beef herd is rebuilt.

Drought has had a widespread impact on all areas of the beef industry. To stay in business, water is the name of the game.

Managing forage and water goes a long way toward profitability.

After a dispiriting stretch of years, many Texas ranchers are optimistic as drought, expensive feed and other conditions that decimated their cattle herds start to loosen their grip.

How much can I afford to pay for a bred female to restock after the drought?

If there are any lessons that can be learned from the past few years of sparse rainfall it’s that recovering from drought requires proper management.

Even in the depths of lingering drought, cattle producers have persevered. Hard choices have been made.

The planned use of meat from cattle treated with antibiotics because of an illness comes as U.S. beef production is projected to plunge to a 21-year low next year.

Even with USDA’s higher forecast of 2013 beef production, lower expected corn yields and higher prices continue to stem growth in the U.S. beef herd.

Changes in Mexican domestic beef consumption and beef trade have significant implications for the U.S. cattle industry in the coming years.

The drought has had lasting effects on farmers across the country. Here’s how three cattle producers have changed management practices to survive.

U.S. feedlots bought 0.5 percent fewer cattle in December compared with a year earlier, the government said.

There’s interesting speculation about when and how the nation’s cowherd will start rebuilding.

Dwindling cattle supplies cited as cause for halting production at the Plainview, Texas, facility.

Each year Pro Farmer usually picks an individual for their Ag Person of the Year, but this year they selected a group-- cattle producers.

While more optimistic, Texas ranchers remain extremely cautious when it comes to rebuilding herds and holding onto forage stocks.

Poor weather conditions have resulted in high feed costs and big financial losses, Purdue Extension agricultural economist Chris Hurt says.