The Worst Spring Drought in U.S. History Threatens Crop Production

(SeaPRwire) –   The United States endured its most severe spring drought ever last month, with more than 60% of land across the lower 48 states experiencing moderate or worse drought conditions. 

The drought has raised alarm among farmers and environmentalists nationwide, who warn that food supplies may be affected and wildfires could spread into areas where they are not typically seen.  

The dry conditions have been particularly intense in the Southeast, where 99.81% of the region was gripped by moderate to exceptional drought at its peak in April, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. More than 80% of the area faced severe to exceptional drought—the highest level recorded for April since the monitor began tracking data in 2000. 

This drought has been developing over an extended period. Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina experienced record-breaking dry conditions between September 2025 and March 2026, surpassing records dating back to 1895. 

Although heavy rainfall in the South last week alleviated conditions in parts of the Deep South and Texas, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported that “drought conditions remained largely unchanged across southeastern Alabama, Georgia, and northwestern Florida, where soil moisture and streamflows remain critically low.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed that January through March was the driest three-month period on record for the continental U.S., with precipitation totaling less than 70% of average, and these dry conditions have now expanded to nearly their greatest extent since November 2022.

Major crops at risk 

The drought poses a serious threat to key agricultural crops, from wheat growers in Kansas to vegetable producers in Georgia.

Poor growing conditions and reduced yields coincide with ongoing challenges for farmers already burdened by tariffs and rising fertilizer costs linked to the conflict in Iran. 

Virginia farmer Billy Bain, 81, told a local CBS News affiliate that this year, marking his 58th season of planting crops, is the worst drought he has ever encountered.

“We had to stop planting because it’s so dry,” Bain said, noting that farming expenses have increased amid the fuel crisis triggered by the Iran war. “It’s very costly per day, especially when diesel fuel prices are $4 for off-road use and over $5 for on-road use—another major expense when you’re dealing with dry weather.”

For wheat farmers throughout the Great Plains, late April to early May is a crucial period as winter wheat reaches maturity ahead of the summer harvest. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects that this year’s wheat acreage will be the smallest since 1919.

Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote last week that climate change is “fundamentally transforming conditions for U.S. agriculture, introducing unprecedented risks and uncertainties for farmers’ and ranchers’ livelihoods.”

She warned these conditions could lead to higher food prices for consumers.  Wildfires in the wetlands  

The dry conditions have also intensified wildfires, even in wetland ecosystems such as Florida’s Everglades. So far this year, wildfires have consumed approximately 120,000 acres in Florida, and NASA identifies the current drought as the most widespread and severe to impact the state since 2012.

“Florida is experiencing one of the worst fire seasons in perhaps the past 30 to 40 years—or it’s shaping up to be,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson told CBS in late April.

In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in 91 counties in late April as wildfires spread across the eastern part of the state, enabling the state National Guard to deploy resources to impacted regions. The Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) responded to zero new wildfires on May 7—the first day without any new fires reported in the state since December 2025.