http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

v 2.4.3.0

Intense drought has hurt the winter wheat in Kansas, with more than one-fourth of the state’s fields in such dire condition that farmers likely won’t harvest it. While some of the wheat in southwest Kansas never emerged for lack of moisture, fields were being abandoned into eastern Kansas, which typically receives more rain. Drought has also diminished the production on grazing lands, cutting into food supplies and water for cattle. A cattle producer in Harvey County will consider himself fortunate to harvest one-third of the brome grass that he normally feeds his cattle. Another cattle producer with livestock in Morris, McPherson and Lyon counties worries about his stock ponds running out of water. His wheat is better for roughage for the cattle than for harvesting as grain. Without enough grazing crops, farmers must rely on pricey hay for the livestock. Kansas Reflector (Topeka, Kan.), May 23, 2023