Drought & Market Conditions
How dry Kansas is, from the U.S. Drought Monitor, and how drought lines up with hay prices, cattle prices, and auction volume.
The Drought Monitor maps every part of Kansas from "abnormally dry" (D0) up to "exceptional drought" (D4). Each number below is the share of the state at that level or worse.
Kansas drought right now
Week of Oct 13, 2026
In drought (D1 or worse)
Severe drought (D2 or worse)
In drought vs. year ago
Drought since 2000
Each band is the share of Kansas at one drought level, from abnormally dry (D0) up to exceptional drought (D4). Major droughts show up as tall, dark bands, like 2011 to 2013 and 2022 to 2023.
Drought next to the markets
Drought is only one of many things that move cattle and hay markets. These charts share a time axis so you can compare them, but a pattern across charts is not proof of cause. Hay prices start in July 2020.
Year by year
Yearly averages of the measures above. Prices and volume are averages of the weekly figures. 2020 starts in July and 2026 ends in September, so those two years cover fewer weeks.