US Farm Production Hit Hard by Drought and Heat Stress

Rising heat and drought conditions have taken a toll on farm production across various regions of the United States. According to the latest RFD-TV crop progress report, moisture improved in parts of the South, Southeast, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic, but drought expanded across the Plains, Upper Midwest, and Florida.

In the Great Plains region, Kansas saw its winter wheat harvest nearing completion while row crops faced increasing heat and moisture stress. Nebraska's corn and soybean development advanced, but drought remained a concern in western and northern production areas.

Feedlot inventories in several states were affected by rising replacement cattle costs and tighter cattle supplies. In Texas, for example, feedlots held 2.56 million head, narrowly topping Nebraska's 2.54 million. However, even with improved pasture conditions, the state still struggled to recover from earlier dryness.