Parts of the great plains are experiencing poor pasture and rangeland conditions.
It’s not a race they want to win, but Arizona leads with 90 percent rated poor to very poor.
North Dakota and Utah are more than 70 percent very poor to poor, and Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington are more than 50 percent very poor to poor.
However, USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says there are some good numbers coming out of the Midwest and parts of the southeast.
“Looking at greater than 70 percent good to excellent in the western states of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and the southeastern states of Kentucky and Alabama. We’ve seen those numbers trailing off the Atlantic Seaboard where it’s turned drier,” Rippey explains. “All of a sudden we’re down to just 41 percent good to excellent in Virginia, 40 percent in North Carolina where topsoil is seriously dried out in the last three to four weeks.”
Related:
USDA: We’ve never seen pasture conditions so poor as we start off the growing season
U.S. pasture conditions on the decline