BY TONY FURSE | November 5, 2025

For commodities, beef remains high and grain prices low

Linn County’s K-State Extension and Research agent says not to be fooled yet that the recent span of six days of soaking rain has solved livestock pond water concerns.

Abbie Powell, Linn County agent for the Marais des Cygnes Extension district, said thus in reference to Oct. 24-29 rainfall which measured an average 1.78 inches at 11 Linn County personal weather stations registered with commercial real-time internet weather information service provider Weather Underground (www.wunderground.com). She admitted, though, that hard runoff rains would have helped ponds more than the slow soaking ones of a week ago.

“The good rain gave us a little bounce-back, but we need several of them,” she said in cautioning that ponds are still at low water levels and could be a problem with any hard freezing before more rain arrives.

Though Linn County received ample amounts of rainfall mid-year, the faucet turned off in August, leading producers now to consider previous-year drought options such as hauling water or paying for rural water, hot-wire fencing to prevent vulnerable cows from getting stuck in pond base mud, and utilizing tire waterers with jobe water trough floats, a creation attributed to Herschel George, former Miami County extension agent and K-State extension water specialist who farms in Bourbon County now.