Drought

Two hoop barns covered in white tarp are filled with a small amount of round hay bales.

Kansas and Missouri Brace for Another Year of Drought 

By Cami Koons | May 3, 2024

Missouri and Kansas remain in drought conditions. Meteorologists and water experts are working to figure out what producers should expect this growing season.  

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An Oklahoma rancher pouring out sack feed to his Angus and Charolais mix cattle in a pasture of dead grass caused by drought.

Droughts, Climate Change, Drive US Beef Herd to Historic Low

By John McCracken, Investigate Midwest | March 18, 2024

Persistent drought, complicated by climate change, have helped drive the nation’s inventory of beef cattle to a 61–year low.

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Water levels in the Little Caney River are so low that the river isn’t flowing over the dam, leaving the stream dry.

Southeast Kansas Town is Almost Out of Water, and Signs of Crisis are Everywhere

By Allison Kite | October 30, 2023

The stubborn drought has brought Caney, a southeast Kansas town of less than 2,000 people, within weeks of reaching the end of its water supply.

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A dry and parched Cheyenne Bottoms wetlands area in central Kansas.

Drought Sapping Fisheries and Marshes in Missouri and Kansas

By Brent Frazee | August 3, 2023

The persistent drought in Missouri and Kansas is beginning to sap the water, and the life, out of fisheries and marshes in the region.

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young cows with tags on their ears stand in the mud of a hoop barn.

Missouri Cattle Producers Slash Herds Amid Worsening Drought

By Cami Koons | July 20, 2023

The worsening drought in Missouri is forcing livestock producers to sell off their cattle herds, decisions that will be felt at the supermarket cash register.

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