Latest News From Drought

More than 70% of the country is still covered in drought. And while the latest winter storm was packed with needed moisture for some areas, it didn't blanket every area needing moisture to restore depleted soils.

As California farmers' try to battle back from extreme drought, hope is coming in the form of snow. The state's average snow water equivalent percentage of snowpack jumped from 19% on December 10 to 98% today.

California could see monumental rain and snow this week. The powerful storm is expected to drench the West Coast, as forecasters say the system could bring a month's worth of rain in a matter of days.

The U.S. is experiencing drought conditions affecting cattle, pastures, feed crops and beyond. During Farm Journal Field Days, Drovers' Greg Henderson discussed the drought and its effect with four industry stakeholders.

Federal officials announced this week mandatory water cuts to the Colorado River, marking the first federal water cuts, and it's the first-ever water shortage for a river that serves 40 million people in the West.

A once-a-century drought has lowered the water level of Argentina's main grains transport river, reducing farm exports and boosting logistics costs in a trend that meteorologists said will likely continue into 2022.

Dairy families cite dramatic drop in water usage in helping state endure record water shortfall.

The drought in the West is producing many firsts, as farmers and ranchers grapple with dire decisions including pulling their cattle off federal lands early. Now many worry they won't source enough feed for winter.

Join Drovers editor Greg Henderson and experts from all segments of the beef value chain to better understand the current and future dynamics of this crisis at 3 p.m. on Thursday, August 5, for this free discussion.

As farmers in the West experience record-breaking heat, the continued extreme drought conditions are also taking a toll on growers, crops and livestock, with pasture and range conditions worsening.

AgDay’s Clinton Griffiths reports that evaporation has increased the salinity in stock dams in South Dakota, some to lethal levels for livestock.

Widespread drought brings comparisons to cow inventories a decade ago.

T.J. Atkin, a cattle rancher in Arizona and Utah, says the drought is worse than he's ever seen, as area ranchers cull or relocate cows from reservoirs running dry.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly 10% of the contiguous U.S. is now under an "exceptional drought," which is the highest the rate has been since 2011.

As drought conditions in the West are continuing to expand, hotter temperatures aren't helping things. Heat that started building over the weekend is not good news for areas already dealing with that drought.

The dire drought situation is one USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey thinks could last through at least the remainder of 2021. Forecasts also point to a drier weather pattern returning for Texas and the Plains.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows from North Dakota to Texas, all the way west to California, the most severe levels of drought didn’t ease across the U.S. this past week. 

North Dakota just endured its driest September to March ever on record. On Thursday, Governor Doug Burgum declared a state of emergency due to drought. Farmers are now forced to make tough decisions, early.

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.

With above average moisture around much of the country during the winter and spring, grazing conditions have improved compared to the same time last year.

With pastureland scorched, feed costs have skyrocketed. The past decade of setbacks has shrunk Canadian herd to 30-year low.

With pastureland scorched, feed costs have skyrocketed. The past decade of setbacks has shrunk Canadian herd to 30-year low.

In the 2018 drought forages for cow herds are short. Without rain, pastures didn’t grow and stored hay for winter feeding fell short. But feed options are at hand that were not available before.

Drought conditions in Canada are pushing ranchers to reduce their herds as feed costs soar.

Much of the western U.S. is also experiencing drought. But Missouri is the only Midwestern state with such severe conditions with suffering corn crops and hay in short supply for cattle.

Ten cattle died on one Texas ranch where 82 cattle were seized, while another ranch in Texas had eight head die and six cattle confiscated. All of the cattle are believed to have been deprived of water or feed.

If drought conditions persist, producers could find themselves seeking winter feed options. The program will focus on what producers can do to maximize on rainfall or plan ahead for various scenarios this winter.

Stunted, stemmy pastures unable to support grazing cattle have potential. Depend on fall rains to bring fall regrowth, says University of Missouri Extension forage agronomist Craig Roberts.

Beef producers should be making plans regarding their herds in case drought conditions continue, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.

Warmer than normal temperatures dominated the Midwest last week, and despite some thunderstorm in the High Plains, drought conditions have intensified. Cattlemen are culling herds and dipping into hay supplies.

In dry weather with short pastures, Missouri cow-herd owners face tough culling decisions. One way to match cows' needs to available grass is to sell cows.

Shortage of cattle forage forces some Ozark herd owners to chop trees to feed leaves. That method was used in big droughts of the 1930s and 1950s.

Especially in times of drought or emergency feeding, producers have to consider which is more efficient to feed the herd: drylot feeding or hauling purchased forage.

Before too long, May will be over, and cattle producers in the Plains are concerned about summer grazing prospects.

The Flint Hills region of Kansas is receiving stocker cattle following timely rains in April that are helping boost grass growing conditions.

The sooner a producer can evaluate and inventory resources, the more opportunity will exist to make decisions rather having decisions forced on them. 

Ongoing drought and wildfires have cattle ranchers in at least five Southwestern U.S. states scrambling for hay or pastureland, while others are selling off some of their herds.

The wildfires, combined with the yearlong drought, have left a lot of producers relying on hay from other areas to feed their livestock.

High temperatures, low humidity and heavy winds have Oklahoma’s wildfire threat at its highest point in a decade, according to the National Weather Service.

April 17 could be a historic day for wildfires across the High Plains and Southwest cautions officials with the Oklahoma Forestry Service (OFS) and the National Weather Service (NWS).

Since the Rhea Wildfire began on Thursday, more than 400,000 acres have burned in western Oklahoma.

Amid the dryness, farmers placed 1.82 million cattle in feedlots in February, up 7.3 percent from the prior year, according to USDA. What will this week's Cattle on Feed report show?

The wildfires in Oklahoma have turned deadly after killing two people and burning more than 300,000 acres across the state.

Wildfires have burned up to 200,000 acres in Oklahoma forcing the Governor to declare a state of emergency, while cattlemen are banding together to form a relief fund to lend a helping hand.

Two major wildfires account for the majority of damage in Oklahoma, but there are still 19 other active wildfires in the state.

Moisture came to about two-thirds of the country last week, dropping heavy precipitation from the southern Great Plains northeastward into the northern Appalachians. But many areas remains in significant drought.

The latest Drought Monitor shows that drought continues to worsen in the southern High Plains.  Across the continental U.S., 0.55 percent of the country is in D4 (Exceptional) drought. 

Drought continues in western Oklahoma.

Grazing too early in the spring can result in decreased forage production the entire grazing season.