High temperatures and a lack of rain are taking a toll on Kansas crops. A report released this week shows rapidly declining conditions in many fields. Around one-third of corn, sorghum and soybeans are rated poor or very poor. Phil Friedrichs (FRED-ricks) assesses crops for the USDA. He’s based out of the northeast Kansas town of Bremen. Friedrichs says the corn in that part of the state is faring better than other areas, thanks to recent rains.
Friedrichs says many crops in western Kansas are faring poorly because of high temperatures. He says some farmers are struggling to keep crops growing even with irrigation.