Great Bend Tribune
Published June 14, 2025
The drought monitor report as of Tuesday, June 17th shows continued improvement for the state with an increase from 58 to almost 65% of the state totally out of dry conditions.听 Essentially, the southern two thirds of Kansas is almost totally out of dry conditions.听 The only parts of the state with some moderate and a bit of severe drought are along the Nebraska border.听 SWAG合集 County is totally out of moderate drought with the southern three quarters just abnormally dry.听 Keep in mind this rating doesn鈥檛 include all the recent rain.听 The six-to ten-day outlook (June 24 to 28) indicates a 33 to 50% chance of leaning above normal for temperatures and a 33 to 50% chance of leaning above normal for precipitation.听 The eight to fourteen-day outlook (June 26 to July 2) indicates a 33 to 40% chance of leaning above normal for temperatures and precipitation.听 The extreme heat this weekend will help wheat harvest proceed.听 This heat isn鈥檛 great for summer crops.听 The extended outlook isn鈥檛 bad, especially for the early planted corn which is proceeding nicely.
No one is complaining about the recent precipitation, even as it slows down wheat harvest, baling forages, or planting summer crops.听 After almost five years of drought, producers are facing the challenge of weed control for fallow and cropped fields.听 Area extension agents are good at sharing information on weed control coming out of Manhattan.听 Today, instead of specific information regarding specific weeds and herbicides, we will consider weed control in more ecological terms.
- First, before addressing the ecological aspects of weed control, in general terms, the best weed control is to start with a weed free field.听 Then, plant at the highest practical seeding rate and for crops like soybeans grain sorghum with adequate soil moisture, and forage crops, narrow rows.听 The best weed control is an actively growing crop that can establish canopy closure as quickly as possible. So, producers must provide a soil environment as free of stress, from soil fertility and structure to diseases and other pest pressures.
- It鈥檚 not that herbicides or tillage should not be used but used judiciously to protect the environment.听 And minimizing tillage to preserve soil structure, organic matter and keep the soil as covered as possible.
- Why is the first bullet point the key?听 Examine an undisturbed field, say native pasture.听 You won鈥檛 see much, if any, bare ground.听 You will typically see a variety of grasses and forbs.听 The life cycles vary in terms of flowering and seed germination.听 That allows for a stable, resilient ecosystem.听 That isn鈥檛 what we want/need for modern crop production.听 We need uniform germination with a single species ready for harvest at the same time.听 It isn鈥檛 a 鈥渘atural,鈥 stable ecosystem.听 This isn鈥檛 鈥渂ad鈥 but nature resists it.
- Nature tends to be the most stable ecosystem that is easy to maintain spatially and temporally.听 Nature wants a system that is easy to maintain, taking the least amount of energy.听 It wants to fill in the blank spots and with a variety of species.听 It may look like a mess but it鈥檚 the most stable, natural environment.听 That鈥檚 why we must constantly add 鈥渆nergy鈥 through management to maintain that order.