As of Tuesday, Dec. 16, the drought monitor report indicates no real change from last week overall with a slight intensification of dry conditions along the Missouri. The one part of the state suffering from a deficiency is the eastern third of Kansas and a bit of North Central. The six-to 10-day outlook (Dec. 23 to 27) indicates a 80 to 100% chance of likely above normal for temperatures and a 40 to 50% chance of leaning below normal for precipitation. The eight to 14-day outlook (Dec. 25 to 31) indicates a 80 to 90% chance of likely above normal for temperatures and 40 to 50% chance of leaning below normal for precipitation. Not good on many levels for cultivated and native plants and wildlife.
Today, as we approach the end of the year, let’s review some of the top stories of 2025 in agriculture. These are not in any particular order and certainly not all inclusive.
• It’s probably safe to assume that tariffs are at the top of most lists. For agriculture, the tariff wars greatly impacted every phase. And while soybeans made the most headlines, tariffs impacted both crop and livestock production. The effects included low cash grain prices, but not the only reason. Strong demand helped corn prices and keep in mind we export soybeans to more than China. Somewhat less discussed is the impact on input prices for producers. Much of our farm equipment, even for a company like John Deere, is manufactured overseas. Even for equipment manufactured in the U.S., many components are imported and in many cases, the steel needed isn’t produced in this country and must be imported. The promised $12 billion aid package will help but as one commentator put it: “It’s like putting a band aid on a bullet wound.”
• Producers are struggling to even break even without assistance. This is in spite of good to very good yields for many. Tariffs, high input costs, and a greater supply than demand all helped decrease prices.
• Still no Farm Bill with a temporary continuation in place for another year. Some items were addressed in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” but there is a great deal of uncertainty which banks and producers don’t like. To make it even harder to complete, the recent changes to SNAP and associated programs hurt garnering traditional support from urban legislators.
• In Kansas, the 2025 crop year was dramatically different than the last five years. For a period, essentially all of the state was free of dry conditions. Even now, except for parts of Eastern Kansas, the state is drought free, and many had one of the wettest fall periods in years. This led to overall good to occasionally excellent yields for mush of the wheat and summer row crops.
• DOGE changes, layoffs, and cuts in grants affected the USDA and producers. Many land grant universities saw major cuts in funding and loss of staff.
• Finally, there is uncertainty as to what is going on with the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) program and what it means for production ag and ag in general.
There’s more, lots more but we are out of space.
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.
