Drought

Kansas Farmers claim nearly $1 billion in insurance to offset crop losses due to drought.  The $987 million in claims breaks the old record of $447 million set in 2002. Last year, the state struggled with a lack of rainfall and a record number of triple-digit temperatures.  The USDA expects more claims as drought conditions worsen.  The U.S. Drought monitor continues to list most areas south of I-70 with some sort of drought condition.

David Heiens' fields are blanketed with snow, but it's not enough to cure the drought problem the agriculture industry faces. "A farmer needs to kind of plan ahead and make lemonade out of lemons," Heiens said. The kind of help farmers may receive because of the drought conditions are now complicated by recent developments to the Farm Bill. Congress renewed parts of the 2008 Farm Bill during their 'fiscal cliff' negotiations. The extension is for nine months. Click for Full Text of Bill Heiens says he thinks consumers will see the biggest increase in prices of meat, with the drought driving up feed prices.

The drought has taken a toll on most lawns. Landscaper say now is the time to breathe some new life into your yard. With the weather starting to cool down, and more regular rainfall, they say now is when you should over-seed. Experts say the first thing you need to do is aerate. Grass that turned brown over the hot summer may just be dormant. That should start bouncing back. If it doesn't, it could be dead. ------------ Previous Coverage, July 16 You wouldn't know we're in the middle of a drought by looking at Ken Tector's lawn.

Ready or not, winter will be back in Kansas before we know it. Last year, Wichita had only three inches of snow tying for the 7th lowest snowfall on record. Many Kansans wonder if we'll get enough snow this winter to provide some drought relief. Another quesiton on people's minds, will this be a cold winter? Storm Team 12 Meteorologist Ross Janssen will give you the information necessary to plan ahead so you'll be ready when the conditions start to change.  Watch Winter Track tonight night at ten.

Making lemonade, that's what Robin Macy calls her project to dredge the creek at Bartlett Arboretum.  The drought may be causing a lot of problems, but it's also provided owners of the arboretum the opportunity to do some maintenance work that's only been done twice in the last 102 years Click to See Photos of Work The arboretum is on the National Registry of Historic Places but you could never tell that by the...

The rain Thursday was a welcome site considering the on-going drought conditions across Kansas.  The U.S. Drought Monitor still lists nearly 80% of Kansas in its two worst levels of drought conditions. The drought is affecting places like Cheney Reservoir, where lake levels are down.  The City of Wichita has also said it may consider water restrictions later this year. Click here for photos from Cheney Reservoir K-State Climatologist Mary Knapp spoke to a group in Pretty Prairie about the conditions and what people can do to reduce the impact.  "You can't really prevent a drought, the question is how can you withstand the impacts of the drought.

I can hear the non-golf people snickering about this next sentence but, there is a showdown coming on the golf course. On Tuesday, the USGA will announce their decision on the use of anchored putters in the game of golf. This could be a watershed moment in the sport. To get you up to speed, the long putters are coming under fire because of the "anchored" point on a players body, either using a belly putter to their stomach or a long or "broomstick" putter anchored to the chest.

Some rainfall reports for the 24 hour period ending at 7 A.M. Sunday .  Wichita (Mid-Continent Airport) 0.28", Wichita (Jabara Airport - NE Wichita) Trace, Winfield - 0.40", Cambridge - 0.45", Mount Hope - 0.02", Norwich - 0.22", Coffeyville - 0.80", Sedan - 0.84".  Not enough to put a dent in the drought, however anything and everything is a welcome relief. In the wake of this cold front, a high pressure center over Iowa will influence our weather today bringing a return of sunshine and a pleasant afternoon.  Highs will range from the upper 80s in northeast Kansas, to the mid 90s in the south.  Clear skies and light winds across central and eastern Kansas tonight will result in a relatively "cool" start to Monday morning, as overnight lows fall into the low and middle 60s. The "heat" returns Monday afternoon and continues through the week, however the oppressive 100 degree "heat wave" appears to be over for now.  Highs should remain at or below 100 degrees the entire week.

The extreme heat and lack of rain is causing headaches for a lot of farmers in the state. The lack of moisture is causing the crop to not be as good as originally hoped. Some farmers are looking into selling off their livestock to not just make up for their losses, but to make sure the cows don't starve. On Van Bowlinger's farm in Cheney, the dry conditions killed off much of his crop. So much that there's not enough hay to feed his 160 cows. He says the last time there was any significant moisture was during the winter.

Cargill plans to close a Texas beef plant, putting 2,000 people out of work, because there's not enough beef.  That's no surprise to Kansas ranchers who know there's too few cattle. "There's a lot of people that just say it's not worth it anymore," said cattleman Daryl Larson.  "There's a lot easier ways to make a living. " The drought's left the United States with its smallest cattle herd since the 1950's.  That means we'll all be paying higher prices, even if the drought ended today.