As of Sept. 6, 64% of the U.S. was experiencing abnormal dryness/drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, unchanged from the previous week. But the Drought Monitor noted key changes within various agricultural regions.
The Drought Monitor summary stated: “This week saw continued improvements on the map across areas of the South, including Texas, in response to another round of localized heavy rainfall during the past week. Overall, the recent rainfall in Texas throughout the past month has started to make a significant dent in the state’s drought conditions in some areas. In contrast, drought conditions intensified in areas of the central and northern Plains with additional degradations on this week’s map. In these areas, recent drought impact reports submitted to the National Drought Mitigation Center indicated drought-related impacts within the agricultural sector including reduced crop yields as well as deteriorating pasture and rangeland conditions... In the Midwest, short-term precipitation deficits and declining soil moisture levels led to the expansion of areas of drought in northern Missouri and central Illinois.”
Midwest: “Light to moderate (1 to 5+ inches) rainfall accumulations were concentrated mainly across the Lower Midwest with the heaviest accumulations observed in southern portions of Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio. On the map, improvements were made in areas of Abnormally Dry (D0) in northern Ohio and Indiana while areas of Moderate Drought (D1) and Severe Drought (D2) were reduced in southwestern Missouri. Conversely, short-term precipitation deficits (past 30-120 days) and negative soil moisture anomalies led to deterioration on the map in west-central Illinois and northeastern Missouri. Average temperatures for the week were above normal (ranging from 1 to 6 deg F) across much of the region, except for areas of southern Missouri, southern Illinois, and western Kentucky where temperatures were a few degrees below normal.”
Plains: “Drought-related conditions continued to intensify across areas of southeastern Wyoming, northeastern Montana, Nebraska, southern South Dakota, and western Kansas, as anomalously hot temperatures impacted western portions of the region. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center’s Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMOR), numerous drought impact reports have been submitted during the past 30-day period. Impacts include reduced crop yields, poor pasture conditions, and the need for supplemental feeding of livestock. The current drought situation was exacerbated by this week’s intense heat, with average maximum temperatures ranging from 95 to 100 deg F in areas of eastern Montana, northern and eastern Wyoming, and western portions of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.”
Across the Corn Belt, dryness/drought covers 30% of Illinois (up 7 points from last week), 31% of Indiana (down 14 points), 62% of Iowa (unchanged), 96% of Kansas (up 6 points), 21% of Michigan (unchanged), 26% of Minnesota (up 6 points), 44% of Missouri (down 2 points), 100% of Nebraska (unchanged), 28% of North Dakota (unchanged), 5% of Ohio (down 2 points), 74% of South Dakota (up 3 points) and 19% of Wisconsin (unchanged).
USDA estimates the drought footprint covers 29% of corn acres (up 1 point from last week), 21% for soybeans (unchanged) and 45% for cotton (down 2 points).