The Drought Monitor says arid conditions deepened in the central and southern Plains during the past week with Kansas as the leading edge “of the intense drought that seems to be waking up and pushing rapidly north along with warmer temperatures.” Drought ratings worsened in Oklahoma and Texas “now that Mother Nature has turned up the furnace…Winter wheat has also been hard hit by hard freezes and the more recent triple-digit heat.” Hot and dry weather is forecast for the coming days.
Some 31 pct of U.S. winter wheat land is in severe or exceptional drought, the two worst ratings, up 8 points in one week, says USDA’s “Ag In Drought” site. Overall, 54 pct of winter wheat territory is affected by drought. A third of U.S. corn and hay land is in drought regions and 22 pct of soybeans.