REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Pasture and range conditions saw some movement over the past week, according to USDA NASS's weekly Crop Progress report on Monday. Localized moisture has some areas better, while others are suffering -- in some instances, in the same state.

The upper Midwest continues to see a good percentage of pasture and range in good-to-excellent condition. Iowa sits at 73%, Missouri at 76% and Illinois at 69% in this category. These same states are at 3%, 3% and 5%, respectively, in the very-poor-to-poor condition category, even with some localized areas seeing moderate drought on the drought conditions map.

DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick said rains have been helping many of the beef-cow states.

"We had some really good rainfall in parts of cattle country this past weekend, but a lot of hot and dry weather in other parts too," Baranick said. "That starts off the week as we get another system to move from the Central Plains through the Midwest early in the week. That will produce more areas of heavy showers and thunderstorms, severe weather, and potential flooding, especially where those storms overlap from the weekend."

The worst pasture and range conditions continue to be seen in Nebraska and other surrounding states. Nebraska is likely not going to see as much movement due to the large number of acres that suffered damage from wildfires. This is also marked by about the western two-thirds of the state in D3 (extreme drought) or D4 (exceptional drought) on the drought monitor map.

In Nebraska, 83% of the state's pastures and range is rated very poor to poor, and only 4% is marked good to excellent.

Other states currently with higher drought conditions and poor pastures include Wyoming at 65%, Colorado at 66%, New Mexico at 60% and Arizona at 63%. That is with an 11-percentage-point improvement in pastures in Arizona. But New Mexico showed a 13-percentage-point increase in the very-poor-to-poor category, Colorado had a 6-percentage-point increase in that category and Wyoming had a 5-point increase.

RAIN WIDESPREAD THIS WEEK

Baranick expects more chances of rain and an increase in temperatures later in the week.

"A small disturbance will bring showers to much of the Plains on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Though the amounts will be scattered, they could hit some of the driest areas out there, too."

While Montana has 50% of its pastures in the very-poor-to-poor condition category, 19% are in the good-to-excellent category, which is an improvement over what the state saw during most of the 2025 grazing season.

Baranick added that the cold air coming in behind this week's front has already led to frosts in Montana and North Dakota on Monday morning. That cold will spread down into the Plains and into the Upper Midwest for Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

"We could see the freezing mark be reached in Colorado and western Kansas northward on Tuesday, and into Minnesota and some surrounding areas on Wednesday. That is more of an issue for row crops but could stunt some advanced forages and lower quality as well," Baranick said.

TOP BEEF STATES SUFFER LESS

The top two beef-cow-producing states of Texas and Oklahoma have 29% and 27% of their pastures in the good-to-excellent category, but also 39% and 36% in the very-poor-to-poor category, respectively.

Baranick said the front to this week's system will stall out down in Texas, and daily showers and thunderstorms could be seen in the Southern U.S. and eastward through the Southeast through the end of the week and probably into next week as well. This is expected to eliminate the heat and bring some needed rain to a few areas.

Cattle producers in the drought-stricken areas continue to buy hay, search for grazing acres, and some are even starting to sell cows due to a lack of feed.

Baranick said rain is expected to spread into the Midwest for Friday and Saturday, bringing some more good amounts through that region.

"More active weather is looking to set up in the Plains for the last week of May, but we'll have to see how that all comes together," he concluded.

Soil moisture in much of the country is lacking and reads at very dry. Rains that spread across areas in need could help pasture and crops thrive.

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

Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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