The drought monitor report as of Tuesday, Aug. 11 is continuing a backwards slide into worse and worse conditions. Almost all of Barton County and much of the surrounding are now in moderate drought. Southwest and South Central Kansas, especially the southwest, are showing a significant increase in drought. The eastern third of the state is in good shape as is a small area of the northwest. The six-to-10-day forecast (Aug. 18-22) indicates a 60-70% chance of likely above normal for temperatures and near normal for precipitation. The eight-to-14-day forecast (Aug. 20-26) indicates a continued 50-60% chance of likely above normal for temperatures and near normal for precipitation. The corn crop is already what it is but this is significantly bad for dryland soybeans and not great for sorghum, especially the late planted fields.

Hard as it is to believe, it’s the middle of August and planting of the 2027 wheat crop is close at hand. Today, what needs to be done and planned moving forward?

• Weed control, especially those weeds and volunteer wheat harboring the wheat curl mite, need controlling. And we need to eliminate any weed possible to save a rapidly depleting soil moisture content. If you have weeds under these conditions, herbicides aren’t as effective in this heat with a lack of moisture. Paraquat should still work well. Tillage, while not a great idea under our current conditions, may be the best option.
• Soil testing is always on the list, especially if it hasn’t been done for a while. The area north of the river isn’t likely to need lime. South of the river, lime is more likely needed. If you need lime, the challenge is that it needs soil moisture to work. Since we did have a period of decent rainfall, checking nitrogen, and south of the river sulfur, may be a good idea as planting approaches.
• If not following wheat, double check soil applied herbicide products and rates to check for possible carryover, especially if the field hadn’t received much rainfall.
• Likely, most wheat producers have already decided on varieties for the upcoming season. If not, there is an excellent publication that lists all the available varieties with details on each one.
• Unless the precipitation outlook improves, it may be very risky to plant wheat after soybeans (although they may be dead earlier than normal, and especially grain sorghum. It’s a little less dicey after corn as it will finish early enough to maybe catch some rain.
• Finally, look at the long-range weather outlook. The building El Nino looks to be extremely strong, a super El Nino. Most are predicting a wetter than normal fall. Some predict wet enough to hinder field work. We need all the moisture we can get for soil recharge. Keep updated as we head into September.

It looks to be another challenging year for wheat production. It will pay to keep an eye on the 30, 60, and 90 day temperature and precipitation outlooks heading into September.

Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207, or martinv@bartonccc.edu.