Drought No More, Farmers Watch Western Kansas Corn Fields Get Hammered by Hail

What’s often called the “white combine” is hammering western Kansas this year, an ugly reality for an area that’s finally receiving rain after nearly five years of drought.

The hail has been widespread, but the severity varies field to field. Oakley, Kan., which sits southeast of Colby, seems to be a bull's-eye for the hail. Sharon Springs, which is almost to the Colorado border, has also been hit hard by the severe weather.

Whitney Larson, who farms with her husband around Sharon Springs, says prayers were answered this spring when the rains started to fall, but the essential moisture is bringing other challenges. 

“We had been in a catastrophic drought for five years,” Larson says. “Seeing rain has been a reminder that our faith finally paid off. We started seeing some rains in March and April, and it's continued since then, but we did have some very bad hail three weeks ago and then again last night."

Not only did the area see severe hail Monday night, but it also hit again Tuesday night.

“It's been disheartening in the fact that it killed some crops,” she says. “But as far as the rain goes, it's been a very, very big blessing this year.”

Western Kansas farmers are used to dealing with the good with the bad. Drought, hail and even tornadoes this year, the weather is a constant battle. 

“Three weeks ago, we had what they say was straight line winds, but it was definitely a tornado,” Larson says. “We have neighbors who live four miles east, and it took out their shop and barn; a 160-year-old concrete barn is now completely gone.”

The tornado flipped over pivots and other machinery in the area.

Hail has been a more common sight, and it even impacted the Larson's wheat crop. With all the rain, harvest was extremely late this year. Normally, they would be heavy in wheat harvest the beginning of July. This year, they hadn’t even started harvesting in mid-July.  

“We had some wheat get tennis ball-size hail and completely totaled it,” Larson says. “But a lot of our wheat actually yielded better than we thought, which was a big blessing. The rains also mean a lot of our area has struggled with weeds."

Impact on Yields

Some fields hit with hail are already a total loss, while other fields have shredded leaves. According to Crop-Tech Consulting's Isaac Ferrie, the yield impact will vary. 

"In fields that hadn't pollinated yet, the hail could cause pollination issues, which obviously affects yield potential," he explains. "In corn that is already tasseled, that means the leaf growth on the plant is done. So, whatever is damaged will not regrow."

If the plants with shredded leaves can stay alive, Ferrie says they can still benefit the plant to some degree versus plants with leaves that turn brown and die.

"With shredded leaves, the benefit can be limited," he adds. "It really depends on how long after pollination the hail happened, if the ear is into grain fill, and if so, how far into grain fill. The further along the ear is into grain fill, the better the yields will be."

Drought Story Differs Greatly Across Kansas 

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, dry conditions still cover nearly 88% of the state, with nearly 30% in D3, or extreme drought. In central and southeastern Kansas, the corn crop is showing signs of drought stress. However, 12% of the state is drought-free, which includes where the Larsons farm.

Moderate or severe drought is prevailing through much of the Corn Belt and many areas of #Kansas, #Missouri and #Nebraska are experiencing extreme #drought. Learn more about extreme heat and Kansas farm income in the article: https://t.co/luqqXatSnI pic.twitter.com/eIiCtbOhRH — K-State Agronomy (@KStateAgron) August 9, 2023

What was green Monday is not upon returning today. #HarvestIsComing pic.twitter.com/wHEug1FF3j — Brian Sieker (@SiekerSales) August 4, 2023