NASHVILLE, TENN. (RFD NEWS) — Harvest is advancing across much of the country, but the agricultural picture entering October is highly uneven. Drought is stressing cattle, pasture, and hay supplies across the southern Plains and parts of the Southeast, while recent rainfall has improved moisture across portions of the High Plains, Upper Midwest, and Southwest.
Specialty crops, dairy, livestock, fall grazing, winter wheat establishment, and transportation conditions remain as important as row-crop harvest in this week’s state-by-state picture.
Great Plains
- Texas: Drought remains the dominant agricultural issue across much of the state, especially in northern, central, and eastern areas where pasture, range, and stock-water conditions have deteriorated. Hay costs and supplemental feeding are rising for cattle operations, while cotton and grain producers are moving through harvest under sharply different moisture conditions depending on location. Far West Texas received beneficial tropical moisture, but much of the state remains in severe to exceptional drought.
- Oklahoma: Persistent drought is limiting pasture growth and forcing some cattle producers to feed hay earlier than normal. Failed or poor cotton fields are being considered for grazing where safe, while producers are also weighing winter wheat pasture prospects against limited soil moisture. Western and southern Oklahoma remain among the nation’s hardest-hit drought areas.
- Kansas: Recent rainfall improved moisture across parts of western Kansas and reduced some drought pressure, but conditions remain uneven heading into winter wheat establishment. Cattle operators continue watching forage supplies and grazing availability, while corn and soybean harvest activity is expanding where fields are ready.
- Nebraska: Rainfall improved parts of western Nebraska and the Sandhills after earlier forage and soil-moisture concerns. Corn and soybean harvest is moving forward, while cattle producers are evaluating stalk grazing, hay inventories, and winter feed needs.
- Colorado: Southern and eastern Colorado benefited from recent tropical moisture, easing drought conditions in some areas. The rain helps winter grazing and soil moisture, although livestock producers remain cautious after a dry season and limited mountain snowpack entering the water year.
- Wyoming: Some improvement occurred in southeastern and northwestern Wyoming, but long-term moisture concerns remain important for ranchers. Producers are focused on hay supplies, fall grazing, and preparing cattle for winter as irrigation-dependent operations close out the growing season.
Midwest
- Iowa: Wet weather has slowed soybean harvest enough in some areas to create unusual local shortages for processors. Rail soybeans have moved into the state, and nearby processor basis strengthened sharply while growers wait for fields to dry. Fall fertilizer and manure applications are also becoming a focus, with Iowa State Extension stressing proper soil-temperature and moisture conditions.
- Illinois: Corn and soybean harvest is underway across the state, with conditions generally more favorable than areas farther south. Producers are balancing harvest speed with grain moisture, storage and fall fieldwork, while livestock operations continue securing feed supplies.
- Indiana: Harvest is progressing after a season that included severe storm damage in some areas. Downed and lodged corn remains a harvest challenge in affected fields, while soybean harvest and fall soil preparation continue elsewhere.
- Ohio: Harvest activity is increasing after late-season rainfall supported crops in many areas. Livestock producers are moving toward fall feeding plans, while grain farms are watching field moisture and drying costs as combines move into corn and soybeans.
- Missouri: Southern Missouri remains under significant drought pressure despite better conditions farther north. Heat and moisture shortages have reduced forage production in parts of the state, and some cattle producers began buying and feeding hay earlier than normal.
Delta & South
- Arkansas: Drought has intensified across much of the state, pressuring pastures, hay, and livestock water while rice, cotton, and soybean harvest continues. Some cattle producers are entering fall with reduced forage reserves and higher supplemental-feed needs.
- Louisiana: Hot, dry September weather accelerated drought development across much of Louisiana. Sugarcane harvest preparations and rice fieldwork continue, while cattle operations are watching pasture decline and water availability.
- Mississippi: Drought is expanding as cotton and soybean harvest moves forward. Cattle and hay operations face declining pasture quality, and livestock producers are increasingly focused on winter forage and feed reserves.
- Alabama: Dry conditions have worsened across much of Alabama, including severe and extreme drought in some areas. Cotton and peanut harvests are advancing while cattle producers contend with reduced pasture growth and tightening hay supplies.
- Georgia: Cotton and peanut producers are moving toward or into harvest after a season marked by extreme heat, irrigation pressure, and late-season disease and insect concerns. Dry conditions remain widespread, increasing pressure on pastures and livestock forage in many areas.
- Florida: Rainfall has improved moisture in parts of the peninsula, but conditions remain highly variable. Cattle producers continue monitoring pasture recovery, while citrus, vegetables, and other specialty-crop operations move deeper into the fall production season.
- Tennessee: Drought has intensified across much of Tennessee after a hot, dry September. Pasture and hay conditions are deteriorating in affected areas, raising concerns about winter feed supplies even as row-crop harvest advances.
- Kentucky: Grain harvest is expanding while cattle producers watch late-season pasture availability and stored forage. Western areas remain more exposed to southern drought conditions, making fall grazing and hay inventories increasingly important.
- North Carolina: Drought continues to affect row crops, hay, and livestock despite localized rain. Extension reports reduced corn yields, stressed soybeans, hay shortages, and, in some counties, producers purchasing feed or beginning supplemental feeding earlier than normal.
- South Carolina: Cotton and peanut harvest is beginning under mixed moisture conditions. Drought remains an issue in parts of the state, particularly for pastures and dryland crops, while livestock producers assess winter forage availability.
- Virginia: Recent rainfall improved drought conditions in western areas, but southeastern sections remain dry. Corn and soybean harvest is progressing while beef cattle and hay producers continue evaluating pasture recovery and winter feed needs.
West & Southwest
- California: Specialty-crop harvest remains the center of activity, including grapes, nuts, olives, and vegetables. Water availability continues to shape production decisions, while olive growers benefit from a crop that requires less irrigation than many Central Valley alternatives.
- Arizona: Tropical moisture has improved conditions in parts of Arizona, helping rangeland and soil moisture after prolonged dryness. Cotton harvest and cattle management remain important, with producers watching whether moisture improvements persist.
- New Mexico: New Mexico received some of the heaviest recent rainfall in the country, with tropical moisture bringing substantial drought relief. The moisture benefits rangeland, livestock water and winter forage prospects, although flooding and field access became short-term concerns in the wettest areas.
- Nevada: Irrigated hay and livestock operations are moving into fall with water supplies still a central concern. Producers are finishing forage harvest, marketing cattle and preparing winter feed inventories as the irrigation season winds down.
- Utah: Parts of Utah received beneficial late-September moisture, helping range and soil conditions. Livestock producers remain focused on winter hay supplies and moving cattle from summer range as temperatures begin to fall.
Northwest & Northern Rockies
- Washington: Apple harvest, potato movement and late-season specialty crops remain major activities, while grain producers have largely moved beyond small-grain harvest. Dairy and livestock operations are securing forage and managing feed inventories as they head into winter.
- Oregon: Fall rainfall has begun easing dryness in western portions of Oregon. Producers are finishing specialty-crop and forage harvest, while cattle and rangeland operations watch whether early fall moisture improves winter feed and pasture prospects.
- Idaho: Potato harvest is a major focus, along with sugarbeets and remaining forage work. Dairy operations continue moving large volumes of feed, making corn silage, alfalfa quality, and transportation important as temperatures cool.
- Montana: Recent moisture improved conditions in southwestern areas, but ranchers remain attentive to hay supplies and fall grazing after a dry season. Small-grain harvest is largely winding down while cattle marketing and winter preparation accelerate.
Northeast
- Maine: Drought remains persistent across much of Maine, including areas along the coast where groundwater and well levels remain stressed. Potato harvest and livestock forage supplies are key concerns as producers move toward winter.
- New Hampshire: Conditions remain mixed after late-season rainfall improved some areas but failed to erase longer-term moisture deficits. Dairy, hay, and forage operations are focused on winter feed inventories.
- Vermont: Dairy producers are finishing corn silage and forage harvest while preparing stored feed for winter. Moisture conditions are generally less severe than farther east in Maine, but forage quality and quantity vary by location.
- Massachusetts: Coastal rainfall improved moisture conditions, including in southeastern New England. Cranberry harvest and vegetable production are active, while dairy and forage farms transition toward winter feeding.
- Rhode Island: Recent coastal rain eased dryness, benefiting pasture and late-season vegetable ground. Producers are wrapping up summer crops and preparing fall and winter production systems.
- Connecticut: Rainfall has improved moisture compared with earlier dry periods, although groundwater recovery remains gradual in parts of southern New England. Dairy, nursery and vegetable operations are shifting into fall harvest and winter preparation.
- New York: Corn silage, grain corn, soybeans and apples are central to current field activity. Recent coastal and eastern rainfall improved moisture in some areas, while dairy producers continue building winter forage inventories.
- New Jersey: Heavy coastal rain improved drought conditions, although groundwater and well levels remain slow to recover. Vegetable, nursery and fruit operations continue fall harvest while livestock farms assess forage supplies.
- Pennsylvania: Crop prospects vary sharply by region. Penn State’s September field survey found stronger corn prospects across western and northern areas while the southeast suffered more from drought; dairy and livestock producers are also working through corn silage and forage harvest.
- Maryland: Late-September rain shifted parts of the state from earlier dryness toward wetter field conditions, particularly on the Eastern Shore. Early corn yields have been promising but variable, while disease pressure has increased in corn and soybeans and some areas remain in moderate drought.
- Delaware: Coastal rainfall improved moisture while corn and soybean harvest expands. Poultry remains the state’s dominant livestock sector, keeping grain availability and feed costs central to farm economics.
- West Virginia: Rainfall has improved moisture in parts of the state, but earlier drought left forage and hay concerns for livestock operations. Cattle producers are evaluating winter feed reserves as grazing growth slows.
Upper Midwest & Great Lakes
- Minnesota: September was unusually warm, but most reporting stations also received above-normal rainfall. Harvest is advancing, while improved moisture has eased drought conditions and boosted pasture prospects in several areas ahead of winter.
- Wisconsin: Harvest and corn silage work continue under sharply divided moisture conditions. Southern areas benefited from rainfall, but exceptional drought persists in parts of northern Wisconsin; dairy farms are finishing forage harvest while drought-stressed operations watch silage quality and nitrate risk.
- Michigan: Conditions are relatively favorable across much of the Lower Peninsula, but drought has intensified in the Upper Peninsula. Corn silage, grain harvest, and soybean maturity are advancing while dairy farms secure forage for winter.
- North Dakota: Recent rainfall reduced drought coverage in northern and eastern areas. Small-grain harvest is largely complete, row-crop harvest is advancing, and cattle producers are assessing fall grazing and hay inventories.
- South Dakota: Drought remains an important livestock and forage issue despite localized moisture improvement. Reduced pasture growth and hay yields have forced some producers to haul forage longer distances, while fall cattle management and winter feed planning remain priorities.
Far North, Hawaii & U.S. Territories
- Alaska: Moderate drought remains in portions of the interior Tanana Valley, while the Southeast Panhandle has entered its wetter fall season. Livestock and forage production is limited compared with the Lower 48, but dry conditions remain important for hay, grazing and local food production.
- Hawaii: Hurricane Nolo brought heavy rainfall to windward areas of the Big Island, but leeward areas remain drier. Cattle, coffee and tropical-crop producers continue dealing with sharp differences in moisture over short distances.
- Puerto Rico: Recent rainfall has improved reservoir levels and reduced drought in parts of the island. Livestock, coffee, plantain and specialty-crop operations are benefiting from better moisture, although localized drought impacts remain.
- U.S. Virgin Islands: Extreme to exceptional drought continues to strain water supplies, vegetation and livestock. Falling well levels and stressed forage are adding pressure to agricultural operations across the islands.
- Guam and Northern Mariana Islands: Recent rainfall has generally met minimum weekly water needs in several locations, improving short-term conditions. Agriculture remains highly dependent on continued tropical rainfall and stable water supplies.
- American Samoa: Rainfall has improved after earlier dryness, although abnormal dryness remains. Continued moisture will be important for tropical crops, livestock, and local water supplies.
