Winter wheat drought area remains unchanged

The amount of U.S. winter wheat considered in drought conditions remained steady at 69% for the week ended April 5, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. USDA rated winter wheat drought as 18% “moderate,” 34% “severe,” 16% “extreme,” and 2% “exceptional." Last week, USDA said winter wheat drought was 20% “moderate,” 32% “severe,” 16% “extreme,” and 2% “exceptional.”

For HRW areas, the area considered abnormally dry/drought in Kansas dropped one point to 71%. Montana’s abnormally dry/drought area increased by three points to 90%. Oklahoma (86%), Texas (95%), South Dakota (86%), Nebraska (99%) and Colorado (100%) had the same amount of land considered abnormally dry/drought.

In SRW areas, Illinois had 12% of its land classified as abnormally dry/drought, a seven-point drop. The abnormally dry/drought area in North Carolina increased by four points to 45%. Michigan had 18% of its area considered abnormally dry/drought, a four-point decline. Arkansas had a three-point drop in the area listed as abnormally dry/drought to 28%. Missouri (0%), Ohio (0%) and Indiana (0%) had the same percentage of the area considered abnormally dry/drought as the previous week.