The warmest winter on record and resulting drought has made irrigation in the Big Horn Basin even more critical than usual this year for farmers.

Thankfully, for the Cody and Powell areas, there were no major restrictions this year, which looks to result in mostly average crops. 

“We're pretty blessed,” said Sam George, farm manager at the Powell Research and Extension Center. “We have a full allotment of water this year, and when we went to the meetings this spring to hear from the Bureau of Rec, they just told us the irrigation districts might want to consider shutting off a little bit sooner than normal, so that we still have a good supply in the reservoir going into the winter for next spring, but for this year we have a really good water supply.”

With the barley harvest underway and beans soon to follow, George said it’s so far so good.

“Until things start rolling into the bins, it's hard to know exactly what they're going to do. But I think people are pretty satisfied with a lot of how their crops are looking,” George said.

Barley harvest begins

Last year barley production in the U.S. was estimated at 141 million bushels, down 2% from the 2024 total of 144 million bushels, according to the USDA. The average yield, at a record high 80 bushels per acre, was up 3.4 bushels from the previous year. 

Wyoming achieved record high barley yields per acre in 2025 alongside a statewide production share of about 3.5% of the U.S. total, even as total planted acreage dropped to roughly 57,000 acres.

“I don't think it is as good as two years ago when we had some of the best barley we've ever had, it’s fine,” Washakie County Agriculture & Horticulture Extension Educator Dan VanderPloeg said. “It was in normal ranges. There's nothing that really stands out as being a big problem, other than if guys didn't have the water.”

It was an uneven year for barley though as cooler than usual temperatures slowed growth in some areas. 

“Barley can handle cold weather, but we had so many cold days this spring that were like 29 degrees for six or seven hours in the morning that you saw really uneven barley emergence, and so that results in uneven barley maturing,” George said.

This leads to parts of fields being ready to harvest but not all, making it more challenging and spread out than farmers usually see. Growers closer to Cody have had a rougher time due to the spring freezes, as well as some hailstorms.

“Their barley is a little bit farther behind, but for the most part, I think the majority of the Basin is going to see a pretty average farm year,” George said.

Beans are coming along

While beans won’t be ready until September, so far it’s been a standard summer for the crop. 

“We had that cooler spring, but that was kind of over by the time beans went in the ground, and so all this heat has been pretty good for the beans as long as people have been able to keep them wet,” George said. 

While it’s much too soon to have an idea this year, the average U.S. dry edible bean yield for the 2025 crop year was 2,203 pounds per acre (up about 6% or 122–142 pounds from 2024), while base grower prices ranged from $0.25 to $0.37 per pound depending on the variety and region.

One concern with the recent humidity is the possibility of disease, but George hadn’t heard anything as of late July.

“The humidity tends to be a breeding ground for disease, especially white mold, which is something that beans can be susceptible to,” George said. “So with the smoke coming in and humidity, that might be a concern.”

George said the beans in the Powell are farther ahead than the beans closer to Cody or near Heart Mountain. And Lovell's a little bit farther ahead than the Powell area. 

Now the warm weather just needs to hold.

“We measure growing days by heat units, and so we've seen more heat units this year than we did last year at the same time, so that's good for crops,” George said. “But if there’s an early freeze and the beans aren't ready, that'll be the end of the crop.”

Hay in high demand

One crop that hasn’t fared quite so well is hay, although Park County is looking better than many other areas in the state. 

Hay has been harder to grow in many low water areas such as Riverton and southern Wyoming. However, VanderPloeg said hay production overall in both Washakie and Park counties has been good and has been growing well in the hot weather. 

“It was a little slow getting going and it varies so much even for people within a mile of each other,” he said. “But good hay growers are getting good hay yields.”

The drought is taking a toll on lower-elevation rangeland, which has put a strain on the hay supply. More hay has been needed as less forage has been available for grazing. 

“The hay market is way up over last year,” VanderPloeg said. “Last year was a really low market in terms of the price of the hay, and this year the hay price has gone way up. Hay is probably starting at over $250 a ton for alfalfa hay, and last year I was buying alfalfa hay personally for $135.”

Another downfall of the warm winter is that this is probably the worst year for weevil that he’s seen in the last decade in terms of the amount of damage in hay and hay fields across the Big Horn Basin. 

“Some people were able to get their weevil controlled before they caused damage, but people that didn't have a plan for weevil before the season probably were caught unaware or were behind because the weevils were earlier than they normally are,” VanderPloeg said.