Kansas farmers pulled by weather extremes and growing costs, wheat crop could be worst since 1972
The USDA projects 1.56 billion bushels as drought and heat cut yields and drive abandonment higher across Kansas and the Plains.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported growers will harvest their smallest wheat crop since 1972, with 58% of Kansas's crop rated as poor or very poor as of May 17.
- Record-Setting drought and hotter-than-average temperatures across the Great Plains have severely impacted production, worsening conditions for farmers like Farmer Orville Williams.
- Near Montezuma, Williams reported irrigated wheat yields dropped from close to 100 bushels per acre last year to 30 to 40 this year, while diesel costs rose nearly $2 per gallon.
- Kansas State agronomist Romulo Lolloto stated these conditions affect consumers through higher bread prices and lost international markets, as Mike Nickelson, a wheat and corn farmer, noted growers struggle to break even.
- Forecasters predict a substantial El Nino could bring warmer-than-normal temperatures this summer, potentially delaying drought relief, while 86% of Kansas wheat crops produced a seed head by early May versus 61% typical.
36 Articles
36 Articles
Kansas Wheat Farmers Face Historic Crisis as Drought and Surging Costs Threaten Worst Harvest in Decades
Extreme weather and rising expenses are hammering wheat producers across the Great Plains, with projections pointing to the smallest U.S. wheat crop since 1972. In Montezuma, Kansas, longtime farmer Orville Williams, 76, surveyed his drought-stressed fields in mid-May 2026 and confronted a season unlike any in his decades of experience. Despite past challenges including economic […]
U.S. farmers prepping for worst year in 54 years – The Horn News
Orville Williams has had a healthy wheat crop on his 2,600-acre farm in Montezuma, Kansas, every year since he was a teenager. It hasn’t always been easy. For instance, there were challenging economic times through the 1980s and various degrees of drought affecting his yield through the years. But this season feels different. “All in all, it’s not going to be a good year,” said Williams, 76. Record-setting drought and hotter-than-average tempera…
Associated Press News
Kansas farmers pulled by weather extremes and growing costs, wheat crop could be worst since 1972
Amid a punishing drought, tariffs and the high cost of fertilizers, farming wheat has become more uncertain as farmers in western Kansas are feeling the impact in their major wheat producing region.
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