southern plains

Image of the empty lots at Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The location is one of five border ports for livestock to come in to the US from Mexico. Its closure due to the threat of New World Screwworm has affected jobs there. Photo taken May 2026. (UADA photo by James Mitchell)
Beef, Livestock

Reopening southern ports to cattle likely won’t bolster U.S. herd numbers

Phased reopening of ports to Mexican beef cattle imports won’t do much to expand the herd in the U.S., said extension livestock economist James Mitchell. Read More

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (Map courtesy of NDMC.)
Arkansas, Beef, Canola, Colorado, Corn, Cotton, Cow Calf, Dairy, Drought, Drought Monitor, Dry Beans, Equine, Dairy, Sheep and Goats, Farmland, Feeder, Forage Crops, Grain Sorghum, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ranchland, Seedstock, South Dakota, Soybeans, Stocker, Sunflowers, Swine, Texas, Water, Weather, Wheat, Wyoming

Beneficial rain fell on the Northern Plains

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (Map courtesy of NDMC.)
Alfalfa, Arkansas, Beef, Canola, Colorado, Corn, Cotton, Cow Calf, Dairy, Drought, Drought Monitor, Equine, Dairy, Sheep and Goats, Farmland, Feeder, Forage Crops, Grain Sorghum, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ranchland, Seedstock, South Dakota, Soybeans, Stocker, Sunflowers, Swine, Texas, USDA, Water, Weather, Wheat, Wyoming

Heat continues to be the story for much of the Plains

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (Map courtesy of NDMC.)

Heat and dry conditions story of the High Plains

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (Map courtesy of NDMC.)

Heat causes degradations in drought map

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (Map courtesy of NDMC.)

Rains fell on northeast Texas and other regions

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (Map courtesy of NDMC.)

Active weather created downpours on the Plains

Derecho blows through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas on June 22 

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Southern Texas biggest gainer in Arthur event

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (Map courtesy of NDMC.)

Midwest and Southern Plains received beneficial rain

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. (Map courtesy of NDMC.)

Hit-or-miss thunderstorms story of the weather week