The US government shutdown means crop conditions are uncertain, but moisture conditions are the best in years for the No. 1 winter wheat production state of Kansas.
Last week’s US drought monitor showed just over 8% of Kansas was being impacted by some form of drought as of Nov. 4. That’s down sharply from last year when almost 54% of the state was in drought and the lowest since 2018 at just 1%.
In fact, rainfall caused significant delays in Kansas winter wheat planting this fall. The last USDA crop progress report before the American government shutdown reported that the state had 17% of its winter wheat planted by Sept. 28. But many farmers across the state fell behind afterwards, with Kansas Wheat officials stating that only about half of the crop had been planted around the end of October, compared to the more typical 80%.
Meanwhile, the latest seasonal drought outlook, released at the end of October, shows drought development likely for the November-January period for large parts of Texas and southern Oklahoma – also large winter wheat production states – but no risk for Kansas.