RFD-TV Weekly Crop Progress and Livestock Production Report

NASHVILLE, TENN. (RFD-TV) — The national agricultural picture shifted again during the final week of October. Heavy precipitation improved drought conditions across much of the Four Corners, central Plains and southern Plains, while dryness intensified through the lower Mississippi Valley, lower Midwest and Tennessee.

Nearly half of the Lower 48 remained in drought as producers moved deeper into fall harvest, winter forage management and preparation for 2027 production.

Great Plains

Texas: Recent rainfall improved drought conditions across portions of the High Plains and western Texas, providing needed moisture for winter wheat and rangeland. Dry conditions remain important farther east and south, while cattle producers continue managing tight forage supplies and elevated feed costs entering winter.
Oklahoma: Rain has improved soil moisture and wheat-pasture prospects across portions of the state, but drought damage to summer forage remains important. Oklahoma State University Extension says native forage production remains below normal across much of western Oklahoma, keeping supplemental feed and winter forage planning central for cattle producers.
Kansas: Widespread precipitation across western Kansas provided additional drought relief and improved moisture entering the winter wheat season. Livestock operations remain focused on fall grazing, crop residue, and winter feed supplies after earlier dryness reduced forage availability in some areas.
Nebraska: Rainfall improved drought across central and northeastern Nebraska, helping soil moisture and fall grazing conditions. Cattle producers are moving onto crop residue where available while monitoring hay inventories and winter feed requirements.
Colorado: Heavy precipitation produced some of the nation’s largest drought improvements, including two-category changes in portions of southern Colorado. The moisture benefits rangeland and winter forage prospects, although flooding and saturated ground created localized problems.
Wyoming: Moisture improved conditions in portions of western Wyoming, but drought remains an issue across parts of the state. Ranchers continue moving livestock from seasonal grazing and evaluating winter hay supplies after an uneven forage year.

Midwest

Iowa: Warm soils are delaying fall anhydrous ammonia applications despite producers wanting to move ahead with post-harvest fieldwork. Iowa State University Extension says four-inch soil temperatures remained in the upper 50s in late October, increasing the risk of nitrogen loss if applications begin too early.
Illinois: Dryness remains a concern in portions of Illinois, particularly areas connected to the expanding lower Midwest drought. Producers are finishing fall fieldwork while watching soil moisture ahead of winter and planning fertilizer, tillage, and cover-crop management.
Indiana: Mostly dry weather has supported fieldwork but also limited late-season moisture recharge. Producers are moving through corn and soybean harvest while shifting attention toward fertilizer applications, cover crops, and 2027 input decisions.
Ohio: Dry weather continues to support harvest and fall fieldwork across much of Ohio, although moisture remains limited in some areas. Livestock producers are transitioning toward winter feeding while grain operations focus on storage, drying, and marketing.
Missouri: Drought intensified across parts of Missouri during the week as the lower Midwest and Mississippi Valley remained dry. Pasture recovery is limited this late in the season, increasing reliance on hay and supplemental feed for cattle operations entering winter.

Delta & South

Arkansas: Drought worsened across portions of the lower Mississippi Valley after another dry week. Cattle and hay producers face reduced fall forage while row-crop operations continue moving grain and cotton through storage, elevators, and processing channels.
Louisiana: Dryness expanded across Louisiana, increasing concerns for pasture, livestock water, and winter forage establishment. Sugarcane operations are moving deeper into harvest while cattle producers manage reduced grazing availability.
Mississippi: Drought intensified again as warm, dry weather persisted across the lower Mississippi Valley. Livestock producers are increasingly dependent on stored forage while row-crop farms finish cotton and soybean work and begin planning winter management.
Alabama: Severe and extreme drought expanded in parts of Alabama, particularly along the Tennessee and Mississippi borders. The Alabama State Climatologist reports continuing rainfall deficits and low streamflows, keeping pasture and livestock concerns elevated.
Georgia: Dry weather has generally favored cotton and peanut harvest, but drought remains across portions of the state. University of Georgia Extension reports favorable late-October harvest conditions in southwest Georgia while growers also begin preparing small-grain ground.
Florida: Heavy rain along parts of Florida’s Atlantic coast brought localized improvement, but drought persists elsewhere in the state. Cattle, vegetable and citrus operations continue dealing with sharply different moisture conditions depending on location.
Tennessee: Drought worsened during the week as much of Tennessee received little meaningful rainfall. Pasture recovery is increasingly unlikely before winter in the driest areas, leaving cattle producers focused on hay supplies and supplemental feeding.
Kentucky: Dry conditions continue affecting portions of Kentucky, with severe drought remaining in parts of the state. Grain farms are finishing fall fieldwork while livestock producers monitor pasture availability and winter forage reserves.
North Carolina: Drought remains across portions of North Carolina as dry weather persisted during the final week of October. Livestock and forage operations remain vulnerable to limited fall pasture growth, while row-crop farms continue harvest and winter preparation.
South Carolina: Drought continues affecting parts of South Carolina after another relatively dry week. Cotton, peanut and soybean operations are moving through harvest while cattle producers evaluate hay and winter-grazing supplies.
Virginia: Dryness expanded through portions of the lower Mid-Atlantic, with severe drought still present in parts of Virginia. Grain and livestock producers are watching soil and forage moisture as the fall growing window continues to narrow.

West & Southwest

California: Rain and higher-elevation precipitation reached portions of California, although major agricultural regions remain focused on specialty-crop harvest and water management. Producers are moving through nuts, grapes, vegetables, and other fall crops while preparing orchards and vineyards for winter.
Arizona: Continued precipitation brought additional drought relief to portions of Arizona, following an unusually active fall moisture pattern. Improved rangeland and stock-water conditions benefit cattle producers, while cotton and specialty-crop operations continue fall harvest.
New Mexico: Heavy precipitation continued improving drought across New Mexico, particularly near the Colorado border where several inches of moisture fell. Better rangeland and livestock-water conditions are welcome, although long-term deficits remain important in some areas.
Nevada: Drought conditions improved across portions of Nevada as western storms delivered additional moisture. Ranchers are transitioning into winter feeding and marketing while irrigated operations close out the growing season.
Utah: Mountain and desert precipitation improved conditions across parts of Utah, supporting soil moisture and rangeland entering winter. Livestock producers continue moving animals from seasonal grazing and securing hay supplies.

Northwest & Northern Rockies

Washington: Fall precipitation has helped portions of Washington, but severe drought remains in some areas. Apple, potato and specialty-crop operations are finishing harvest while grain and livestock farms shift toward winter storage, feeding and moisture management.
Oregon: Pacific storms delivered substantial precipitation west of the Cascades, helping ease some drought pressure. Livestock and forage producers are watching whether fall moisture continues long enough to improve soil and pasture conditions before winter.
Idaho: Moisture increased across portions of Idaho, although severe drought remains in parts of the state. Potato and sugarbeet operations are wrapping up harvest while dairy and livestock producers concentrate on forage inventories and winter feed movement.
Montana: Mountain precipitation improved moisture in some areas, but drought continues across portions of Montana. Cattle operations are focused on fall marketing, winter feed inventories, and the condition of rangeland following a dry growing season.

Northeast

Maine: Severe drought expanded across portions of central Maine after another dry week. Groundwater and longer-term moisture deficits remain important as potato, dairy, and forage operations move toward winter.
New Hampshire: Conditions remain comparatively better than Maine, although lingering dryness persists in portions of New England. Dairy and livestock producers are increasingly dependent on stored forage as grazing growth slows.
Vermont: Dairy farms are largely transitioning toward winter feed programs after completing major forage work. Moisture conditions remain less severe than farther east, but producers continue monitoring stored forage quality and quantity.
Massachusetts: Earlier rainfall has limited major drought expansion across much of Massachusetts. Cranberry and vegetable operations are finishing fall activity while dairy and livestock farms prepare for winter feeding.
Rhode Island: Moisture conditions remain generally improved compared with earlier in the fall. Vegetable, nursery and livestock operations are moving toward winter management as field activity winds down.
Connecticut: Agricultural operations continue fall harvest and winter preparation under generally stable moisture conditions. Dairy, nursery and vegetable farms are shifting toward stored feed, protected production and winter field management.
New York: Dryness expanded into portions of central Upstate New York during the week. Dairy and grain farms continue fall fieldwork while monitoring soil moisture and forage inventories as they head into winter.
New Jersey: Abnormal dryness expanded across portions of northwestern New Jersey after a dry week. Vegetable, fruit and nursery operations are finishing seasonal work while livestock farms assess winter forage supplies.
Pennsylvania: Dryness expanded across northeastern Pennsylvania, while crop prospects remain strongly divided by region after uneven summer rainfall. Penn State Extension has reported stronger corn and soybean potential across northern and western areas than in the drought-affected southeast.
Maryland: Fall fieldwork continues under mixed moisture conditions, with some areas still carrying drought deficits despite earlier rainfall. University of Maryland Extension reports relatively strong corn results in several regions while producers continue soybean harvest, cover-crop establishment and winter grain planting.
Delaware: Grain and soybean harvest remains central to field activity, with poultry operations keeping feed availability and grain costs important to the state farm economy. Fall moisture has generally been adequate for cover crops and winter grain establishment.
West Virginia: Livestock operations continue assessing hay supplies and winter feed requirements as pasture growth slows. Moisture conditions vary by location, but earlier drought continues influencing forage availability in some areas.

Upper Midwest & Great Lakes

Minnesota: Severe drought remains in portions of Minnesota despite scattered late-October moisture. Grain operations are finishing fall fieldwork while livestock and dairy producers focus on forage storage and winter feed needs.
Wisconsin: Exceptional drought expanded into parts of Vilas, Iron, and Oneida counties and now covers about 6% of the state. Wisconsin Extension reports limited rainfall during the latest week and continued concerns over soil moisture in northern areas, while dairy and grain farms move deeper into fall operations.
Michigan: Severe drought remains in portions of Michigan, especially toward the northern Great Lakes region. Dairy operations are securing winter forage while grain farms continue harvest and fall fieldwork under generally dry conditions.
North Dakota: Drought remains in parts of North Dakota despite recent precipitation across the northern Plains. Cattle producers are managing fall grazing and hay supplies while row-crop farms finish harvest and prepare equipment and fields for winter.
South Dakota: Rainfall brought drought improvement to southeastern South Dakota, but severe drought remains elsewhere. Ranchers continue evaluating winter forage needs after an uneven pasture season, while grain farms finish harvest and residue becomes increasingly important for grazing.

Far North, Hawaii & U.S. Territories

Alaska: Portions of mainland Alaska continue dealing with lingering abnormal dryness, although recent precipitation removed drought from some southeastern areas. Agricultural operations remain concentrated on hay, livestock, and local food production as winter conditions expand.
Hawaii: Hawaii remains free of drought after generally above-normal precipitation over recent months. Some leeward areas of the Big Island remain abnormally dry, keeping localized grazing and water concerns in place.
Puerto Rico: Heavy rainfall improved drought in portions of southeastern Puerto Rico, but severe and extreme drought remained elsewhere because of longer-term moisture deficits. Livestock, coffee and specialty-crop operations continue facing sharply different water conditions across the island.
U.S. Virgin Islands: Drought remains severe, with exceptional drought on St. Thomas and St. John and extreme drought on St. Croix. Groundwater shortages and stressed vegetation continue creating problems for livestock and local agricultural production.
Guam and Northern Mariana Islands: Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands remained free of drought and abnormal dryness after sufficient recent rainfall. Agricultural conditions remain dependent on continued tropical moisture and reliable local water supplies.
American Samoa: Abnormal dryness continued as rainfall remained below normal and vegetation showed signs of stress. Continued moisture will be important for tropical crops, livestock, and local water supplies.