By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
As of July 29, Ellis County was removed entirely from the Kansas Drought Monitor map.
This was the first time Ellis County has been completely drought-free since July 6, 2021.
Stacy Campbell, crop production extension agent, said that might be good news for fall crops, which will be harvested in late September or early October, and winter wheat, which will be planted this month.
Campbell said the moisture will help the wheat achieve adequate growth before it goes dormant for the winter.
The fall harvest might be almost too good, Campbell said.
The wheat harvest this summer was bountiful, but prices have been low. Demand has been lower, possibly due to tariffs, he said.
This means there is still a significant amount of wheat in storage at local co-ops.
"I was talking to one of the co-op guys in Great Bend a little over a week ago. He said, 'Boy, we have good crops. We're trying to figure out how we're going to get it all put into the bins,'" Campbell said.
"Grains aren't moving that much, so there's a concern of where all of this grain is going to go," Campbell said.
The corn harvest is expected to start at the end of the month. Soybean harvest will likely occur in October, Campbell said. Sorghum is usually harvested after the killing freeze, on average, around October 9, with an additional week of dry time following the freeze.
Campbell said it is much too early to forecast the outcome for winter wheat. The area will need to have precipitation later in the growing season to secure a good crop.
Although farmers elsewhere in Kansas irrigate crops, Ellis County row crop farmers rely on dryland farming due to a lack of water resources.
"The one limiting factor that affects yields the most in dryland farming is moisture," he said.
Holly Dickman, Hays water conservation specialist, said she initially questioned the removal of Ellis County from drought/dry status.
She said Hays had received more rain than areas in the southern Ellis County. However, since that interview, the county has received more rain.
Even though the county is no longer in drought, she said those conditions can change rapidly.
She urged residents to continue to conserve water.
As of Tuesday, Hays has received 17.22 inches of rain year-to-date. In an average year, it receives 2.24 inches of precipitation in September and 19.84 inches of precipitation through the end of September.
The National Weather Service calls for a slight chance of showers or thunderstorms in Hays overnight, Thursday and Thursday night, then sunny skies through the weekend.
The forecast calls for another slight chance of rain on Sunday night then more sunny weather to start next week.