Farmers in the vast Midwest of the United States, part of the country’s essential “breadbasket,” have witnessed a precipitous decline in crop yields, with some fields rendered unharvestable.
Rachel Tucker stated that on the 4,000-acre (1,600-hectare) Tucker Farms in Venango, Nebraska, “we were only able to harvest around 500” acres, the majority of which were wheat.
Much of the remainder had withered under the sun’s relentless heat.
The grasshoppers attracted by the drought threatened the Tuckers’ flowers until they introduced praying mantises to control the winged pests.
If the American West has been experiencing water shortages for years, the Midwest has not experienced such dire conditions since 2012.
Tucker remarked, “It is worse than 2012.” “Far worse.”
Her husband, whose grandfather farmed these same fields, claims the situation has not been this bad since the 1930s Dust Bowl.
The story is just as grim in western Kansas to the south.
Marc Ramsey, whose family has farmed near the small town of Scott City for nearly a century, said, “I was catching up with some older farmers this morning.”
“Men in their 70s and 80s are stating that they have never encountered anything similar in their entire lives. Consequently, the situation is quite undesirable.”
Almost no precipitation has occurred since late July, he reported. Two inches of precipitation “is essentially all we’ve had all year.”
Rex Buchanan, director emeritus of the Kansas Geological Survey, noted a difference between the dry years of 2010-2012: “It appears that when the rain stopped, it stopped abruptly.”
– Dwindling groundwater
Drought has affected the three most important crops in the United States: wheat, corn, and soybeans. As a result, the US Department of Agriculture had to reduce its national yield forecasts.
Along with Kansas and Nebraska, the state of South Dakota in the Midwest has also been severely affected.
In normal conditions, these three states produce one-third of the nation’s winter wheat and one-fourth of its corn.
About 30 percent of Marc Ramsey’s land is irrigated, meaning that a portion of his fields is performing better than the rest. The single irrigated field at Tucker Farms also performs better than the others.
However, even some irrigated fields in Ramsey are producing only 80 bushels of corn per acre, which is less than half the normal yield.
In western Kansas, high water consumption has led to “fairly dramatic declines” in aquifers, according to Buchanan, who added that farmers in some areas have “really struggled.”
“They have witnessed some wells dry up. They have been forced to return to dryland farming “meaning without watering
– “You only worry”
Due to the strict limitation of water rights, according to Buchanan, some farmers have banded together in agreements for more prudent use of underground water, extracting as much as 20 percent less than permitted.
Similar to the Tuckers, Ramsey carries crop insurance to protect against exceptional losses.
But a year like 2022 could increase premiums, which were already on the rise due to rising commodity prices.
In most cases, insurance “covers the cost of productivity,” as stated by Ramsey. Therefore, we will return next year to try again.
However, insurance does not replenish depleted aquifers; autumn rains typically do this.
Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, stated that the lack of soil moisture “will be a problem going ahead through winter and next spring if the current conditions do not change.”
Despite the political sensitivity of the topic in the United States, Buchanan asserts, “there is certainly an awareness (among farmers) about climate change.”
Rachel Tucker, a farmer, remarked, “In years like this, you just worry about the suicide rate because farming is always stressful and unpredictable.”
“Therefore, I hope that everyone may maintain a positive attitude and expect the best for next year.”
