Weeks After Drought Concerns, Excess Rain Is the New Threat for Midwest Farmers

USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

After months of drought stress, a dramatic weather reversal across the Midwest and Great Plains has left some corn and soybean farmers dealing with the opposite problem — too much rain. Parts of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas have seen repeated rounds of heavy precipitation in June 2026, resulting in soil saturation, nitrogen leaching, standing water and wind-driven crop damage. Some fields have required multiple replanting passes, and the whiplash from dry to wet has compounded an already difficult season for winter wheat producers in Kansas.

While national crop progress numbers remain relatively strong, the ground-level reality is a shrinking window to complete critical tasks like sidedressing nitrogen and applying herbicides before weed pressure gets ahead of growers.