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Drought covering the continental U.S. grew by 2 points this week, now covering nearly 60% of the country. As the drought grips the Wheat Belt and key areas for cattle production, it's creating concern for 2022.

Three big weather players may impact the 2022 crop season, according to Eric Snodgrass, principal atmospheric scientist for Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Bar S Ranch was devastated by wildfire in December. The family lost 200 head of cattle, houses and barns. Grateful to be alive to share their story of survival, the family is thankful for donations and support since.

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.

On Dec. 10, 2021, a tornado tore across Kentucky demolishing areas in its path. Farmers and state leaders say it will be a long road to recovery with trouble sourcing even enough fencing supplies to rebuild.

Western Kansas ranchers faced the extreme in December. With winds clocking in north of 100 mph, warnings of wildfires came fast. And as ranchers face a long recovery, neighboring ranchers are rushing in to help.

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.

From droughts to hurricanes to wildfires, this year has offered a little of everything when it comes to weather.

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.

Hurricane Ida ravaged Louisiana agriculture this fall. The hurricane brought as much as two feet of rain in some areas, as producers grappled with losses and aftermath as those in surrounding states stepped into help.

When nearly 300,000 Oklahoma acres burned in April of 2018, Terry Burleson found himself caught in the wind-driven flames. His escape is nothing short of a miracle.

While ruminant (cattle, sheep, and goats) production is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions globally, the sector's share is smaller in developed countries due to better genetics and feeding practices.

Less than a week after Louisiana was ravaged by Hurricane Ida, farmers and ranchers are assessing the damage with recovery gets underway. And now a disaster relief fund is aimed to provide financial help. 

All of California's national forests are now closed to the public due to raging wildfires. Wildfire threats and issues continue to grow as more than 6,800 wildfires have already burned 1.7 million acres in the state.

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.

One year after wildfires ravaged Dave Daley's herd, the California rancher is on a mission to save his family's ranch legacy. But as his area is still scattered with scars, searching for solutions and calls for change.

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.

Western wildfires continue to rage in the west, as California's biggest wildfire is leading to widespread evacuations of livestock. And now there are efforts underway to care for animals left behind.

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.

July proved to be a scorcher in the West, but the weather story flipped to start August, with much of the eastern half of the country enjoying cooler and dryer air during the first few days of the month.

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.

The record cold temperatures and extreme weather had a major impact on ranchers across the country, but through it all, the men and women showed what the true definition of a rancher is.

While some in the cattle industry know the switch from flaked corn and wet distillers to feeding cracked corn was out of necessity, they fear there could be a huge increase in cost of gain.

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.

As the Great Plains see plunging temperatures this week, one meteorologist thinks crops in the core of the Corn Belt escaped major damage thanks to constant cloud cover. However, livestock producers may not be so lucky.

On a harsh winter day in 2018, Robbie Polk chanced upon a dinosaur suspended in ice.

America’s agricultural economy is bracing for yet another hit as Tropical Storm Barry barrels toward Louisiana, with grain elevators, cotton fields and cane crops in its projected path.

Meteorologist Mike Hoffman looks at another soggy forecast and cooler conditions.

Every few years we seem to be faced with reasons to dust off these tax laws, but it has been a long time since it hasn’t been for drought. In 2019, we are looking at how these apply to flooding in the Midwest.

Farmers and ranchers from South Dakota to Louisiana have been enduring record rainfall and flooding to care for their cattle.

Farmers and ranchers from South Dakota to Louisiana have been enduring record rainfall and flooding to care for their cattle.

According to the Mesonet, the year so far through May 26 is the fourth wettest year on record in the state with the last thirty days the second wettest for the period. 

Tons of sand, sediment and silt — some in dunes as high as 10 feet — have been scattered across the eastern half to two-thirds of Nebraska by the March flooding.

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.

While some producers near the Elkhorn River in Scribner Nebraska are in the process of cleaning up. AgDay Betsy Jibben heads to Scribner, Nebraska. She talks with Aaron Lange and Angie Lange.

AgDay national reporter heads to North Bend, Nebraska. She talks with Greg Beebe, a livestock producer from the area.

Local, state and federal officials along with conservation groups and logging interests have to find common ground to reduce increasingly destructive wildfires in the U.S. West, Idaho Gov. Brad Little said Tuesday.

One of the greatest needs for ranchers after damage from flooding or a blizzard is the need to rebuild fences.