Nebraska farmers seriously concerned due to unseen drought statewide

OMAHA, Nebraska – A portion of our region is currently experiencing extreme drought conditions for the first time in ten years.

The United States government has made a map public. Thursday’s Drought Monitor shows that the majority of Douglas County is experiencing a moderate drought, and a closer look reveals this fact. However, only a little further to the north in the counties of Dodge and Colfax, the most severe level is the dark red. Exceptionally dry conditions.

It has been quite some time since the wind has brought any rain clouds over our region, and the lack of moisture is beating up and drying out crops. At the moment, farmers don’t need any more trouble than they already have on their hands.

Nate Dorsey said, “We’ve also had higher than average input costs, so things like fertilizer and fuel, and a lot of farmers were really hoping and relying on crop production to be able to make up for those increased costs.” “We’ve also had higher than average input costs so things like fertilizer and fuel.”

The current high levels of inflation that consumers are experiencing will not be helped by dry fields in agricultural countries. Everyone has observed that the prices at the grocery store have gone up; the higher costs at the shop are necessary to make up for losses in the fields.

According to Dorsey, “I think given the drought conditions that are affecting a large portion of the midwest that we’ll probably see higher pricing going forward.”

According to Nate Dorsey, an Extension Educator at the University of Nebraska, the crops that are not irrigated do not appear to be in as good of shape as those that are. However, the crops that are irrigated with water appear to be in far better condition.

The majority of farmers who we observe working at roadside food booths farm a smaller number of acres and make sure their crops have access to water. The maize and all of the other product sold by Daniels Produce, which is based in Columbus, seemed to be in excellent condition.

Ralph Hefti, who works for Daniels Produce, said that “much of it is all watered continually irrigating,” and that “particularly the corn they irrigate very strongly and it really hasn’t hurt us,” despite the fact that “we’re a little bit slower on the watermelons and cantaloupe.”

Produce growers who have access to water for their crops are doing well in the marketplace. If it were to rain right now, it probably wouldn’t have much of an effect on the yields for the large farmers that grow soybeans and maize, but additional moisture would aid the dry, cracked soil in the near future.

“If we don’t have moisture going into the fall and winter, that means we’re going to be starting out 2023 dry already, and that’s never a good sign and that’s kind of what happened this year,” said Dorsey. “That’s never a good sign and that’s never a good sign and that’s kind of what happened this year.”

According to officials from the state, we’ve seen approximately 10 inches less rainfall than normal over the course of an annual year.

In Dodge County, where the situation is even more dire, Dorsey reports that the county has gotten almost 13 inches of rain so far this season. The typical annual average amounts to thirty inches.