Midwest Rain Brings Mixed Drought Relief, High Plains See Improvements

The U.S. Drought Monitor for the past week showed a mix of drought degradations and improvements. Precipitation fell across the Plains, Midwest, and mid-South, mostly from the central Rockies to the western slopes of the Appalachians, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Southwest also received locally significant showers that triggered flash flooding. Mostly dry weather prevailed in the Northwest, Intermountain West, Deep South, and along the Atlantic Coast.

Midwest

The Midwest received rainfall that brought a mix of improvements and setbacks. Heavier precipitation was observed from Missouri to Ohio. On September 21, prior to the rain, topsoil moisture across the lower Midwest was more than 70% very short to short in five states, led by Ohio (88%), and 50-60% of the pastures were rated very poor to poor in Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

In Illinois, Ryan Gentle, Wyffels agronomy manager, shared that conditions were extremely hot and dry until Saturday.

“Most of the area got at least a little rain Saturday night,” said Gentle. “The Carthage area had 1 inch with areas to the south getting around 1/4 inch. Creeks and rivers are very low, and we have virtually no subsoil moisture. We will need a lot of rain and/or snow this winter to recharge.”

Jared Goplen, Wyffels agronomy manager, reported higher rainfall totals across his territory.

“Most of my territory in northern Iowa and southwest Minnesota received at least some rain mid-week last week, with some areas getting north of 2 inches,” said Goplen. “This slowed down any harvest progress for the time being. It was cloudy the later half of the week so not much drying occurred.”

Last week in Wisconsin, Nick Groth, agronomic service representative for Syngenta Crop Protection, experienced warm weather.

“Temperatures reached the mid-80s for several days last week,” said Groth. “The end of the week brought scattered rain showers to the state, which should be good for slowing the rapid soybean moisture loss.”

High Plains

Most of the High Plains region is free from drought or received drought-easing precipitation, including some high-elevation snow in the central Rockies.

“Nebraska received much-needed rain throughout the week, which pretty much ended the irrigation season for 2025,” said Travis Gustafson, agronomic service representative for Syngenta Crop Protection. “Some areas received significant rainfall and will have to wait for fields to dry off before harvest can get going.”

Gustafson said parts of the southwest corner of the state also received severe hail and wind. 

“I’m sure there will be some battered fields in that area,” said Gustafson.