The associate director of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center says widespread drought conditions could be a challenge for farmers heading into 2026.
Melissa Widhelm says above normal temperatures for much of October have contributed to an expansion of dry conditions.
“We have some places that are down six to fifteen inches below normal for this time of year,” she says. “This winter, if we don’t get wetter than normal conditions, we’re not going to recharge that soil.”
She tells Brownfield current weather models show little to no significant rainfall to close out the month.
“In East central Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, we’re looking at conditions improving,” she says. “But, in western Illinois and Missouri, we’re looking at persistence. We’re looking at a region divided as we go into winter.”
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows more than 70 percent of the Midwest is experiencing moderate to extreme drought.
Widhelm says it is the fourth consecutive fall where the Eastern Corn Belt has experienced rapid onset drought conditions.
