REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Some slight shifts were seen to pasture and range conditions across the country based on where the rain fell over the past week.

DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick said, "Some heavy rain moved through the Midwest last week that garnered a lot of headlines, but we saw plenty of areas of showers and thunderstorms through a lot of the Plains states last week, too. Not all areas were hit, but large areas from Montana and South Dakota down to west Texas saw more than an inch. It is a good start to reducing some of the drought and improving soil moisture for pastures and rangelands."

Most of the upper Midwest and northern Plains saw significant rain, but it also led to improvement of the grass in the pastures. Iowa saw a 6% increase in good to excellent pasture and range to reach 70%. Nebraska saw a 2% improvement, Colorado saw a 3% improvement and the Dakotas also saw some improvement.

These states also saw an improvement in the very poor to poor category with a 2% improvement was made in Nebraska, Iowa, and Montana. While Wyoming and Colorado saw some improvement in the best pastures, they continue to see the worst pasture conditions increase in Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota. Wyoming has 67% of pastures in very poor to poor conditions. Colorado is at 52% and South Dakota is at 66%.

Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas have also seen some decrease in pasture conditions this fall, dealing with extreme temperatures and less moisture. Baranick said they could see some improvement on the weather side.

"The good news is that the summer heat will be leaving everywhere but Texas this week and the showers will keep moving through," he said. "Rain will be falling in some part of the Plains every day this week with some of the heaviest totals being forecast from New Mexico and west Texas up into Nebraska and Iowa."

The rains could show continued improvement in pasture conditions as Baranick added it will help those producers planting fall forages.

The Midwest is expected to dry out some this week. Those in the areas that saw extreme heavy rains last week will appreciate that even though some areas of the south could use some rain, Baranick expects overall conditions to see some improvement.

Overall, the country has seen more pastures in the very poor category over the past week and is nearly double in that category over last year. The numbers on the good and excellent side are also considerably less than a year ago, putting pressure on pasture and range conditions and thus questioning how supportive this is for rebuilding the cow herd.

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com.

Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal.

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