Great Plains wilt and worry as drought eases elsewhere

Cattle eat a flaked corn mixture at Coake Feeders in Dodge City, Kan. Feedlots are seeing record numbers of cattle as continuing drought conditions force cattle off pastures due to lack of grass

DENVER — As much of the West recovers from several years of drought, severe dryness lingers on the Great Plains, playing havoc with agriculture, commerce and hydroelectricity production.

The effects are widely scattered in regional pockets from Texas to the Dakotas. Winter wheat in Kansas and northern Oklahoma is in jeopardy from record warmth, wind and lack of rain. Livestock herds in Wyoming and other cattle states have shrunk because rangeland is too parched to graze.

Electric rates, lake recreation and commercial barges are affected by lack of water in the Missouri River, whose headwaters areas in the Rockies have suffered years of drought.