US Midwest Drought Cracks Soil and Heat Threatens Wheat Yields

Kansas farmer Brett Grauerholz reports large soil cracks up to two inches wide as a prolonged drought stresses corn and soybean fields. Irrigation has kept crops in reproductive stages, but heat is expected to intensify, prompting hopes for imminent rain.

In North Dakota, growers such as Jim Pellman confront 100‑degree days that risk wheat yields just as global wheat prices rally to three‑year highs. The heat comes amid Black Sea export tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and the USDA projects U.S. wheat production at its lowest level since 1970‑71.