Cattle prices near Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The closest sale barn with a recent report is Riverton WY in Riverton, WY, about 48 miles away. On Nov 10, 5-weight steers (500–599 lb) averaged $432.86 per hundredweight on 365 head (USDA). Check a bid against your own costs with Ring Price.
CRP emergency haying & grazing: Hot Springs County is on FSA's list (since Sep 1, 2026). Check with your FSA county office first. Details · FSA list as of Nov 5, 2026.
Most of Hot Springs County, WY was in extreme drought (D3) on the Nov 10 U.S. Drought Monitor map; week 39 in a row with some severe drought (D2) or worse. Rain has run 22% of normal over the last 30 days (well below normal); the 6-10 day outlook for Nov 20–24 leans wetter than normal (33% chance of above-normal rain) and the best rain chance this week is 53% on Friday (high 43°). Hot Springs County is on FSA's 2026 LFP list with up to 4 monthly payments, and Riverton WY is the closest USDA-reported sale barn at 48 miles.
Rain vs normal
Last 30 days22% of normal
Last 60 daysnot read yet
Last 90 daysnot read yet
NOAA river forecast center rain (radar plus gauges) at the county center, Nov 15, 2026. Source.
Rain outlook
6-10 day outlook (Nov 20–24)Leans wetter than normal (33% chance of above-normal rain)
8-14 day outlook (Nov 22–28)Leans toward near-normal rain
NOAA Climate Prediction Center precipitation outlook, issued Nov 14, 2026. Source.
The 2027 Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) insurance sales closing date for Hot Springs County is Dec 1, 2026, 16 days from today. PRF (Rainfall Index) pays on a rainfall index for your grid, not on your own rain gauge. You buy it through a crop insurance agent.
Date from USDA RMA's actuarial data, read Aug 28, 2026 · RMA dates map. Your agent confirms the date for your policy.
Hot Springs County grass production
In 2025, grassland and pasture in Hot Springs County grew about 810 pounds per acre of grass and forbs, 135% of the county's 1991-2020 normal of 600 pounds per acre. That was the 1st best of 40 years on record (1986-2025). Best year: 2025 at 810 pounds per acre; worst: 1986 at 400.
No open loss windows in Hot Springs County right now. A 30-day window opens when the county first hits severe drought (D2), jumps to D3 or D4, or after a blizzard, extreme heat or cold, flood or ice warning, a wildfire, or a USDA disaster designation. Keep a Drought Ledger.
Information only; not financial, tax or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Cownty sends nothing to FSA.
Drought-sale tax flag IRS list
Hot Springs County is on IRS Notice 2026-54 (severe or worse drought, Sep 1, 2025 to Aug 31, 2026).
Why it matters: if you sold breeding, dairy or draft livestock because of drought, the tax code may let you put off the gain (more time to buy replacement animals, or report the extra-sale income a year later). Your tax preparer decides whether either applies.
Each line is one barn's head-weighted average for 5-weight steers (500–599 lb) in that week; gaps are weeks with no sale or no lots that size. Past sales, not a bid.
Dollars per hundredweight ($/cwt, per 100 lb), calculated from USDA AMS Market News sale reports (Medium & Large 1 and 1-2). Not a USDA-published average. ≈ $/head = $/cwt × the middle of the weight class ÷ 100.
99% of the county in severe drought or worse, 39 weeks running.
How to read this
Each band is how much of the county was in that drought level that week. Darker = worse. D2 (severe) and darker can trigger USDA drought pay.
Right now: 99% of the county is in severe drought or worse; some of it has been for 39 weeks running. Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, map of Nov 10, 2026.
Apr 21, 2026 · Drought Hot Springs declared · crop year 2026
Apr 10, 2026 · Drought Neighboring county declared (counts for Hot Springs) · crop year 2026
Mar 25, 2025 · Drought Hot Springs declared · crop year 2025
"Declared" means USDA named this county. "Neighboring" means it touches a declared county. Either way, FSA emergency loans can open for about 8 months. FSA designation files (dated Jan 28, 2026, Oct 19, 2026). Fetched Nov 9, 2026.
Open Hot Springs County is on FSA's emergency haying and grazing list, starting Sep 1, 2026. Trigger: D2 (severe) drought on the Drought Monitor. Get an updated conservation plan from FSA before cutting or turning out.
Before haying and grazing, contact your FSA county office to see if your county remains eligible and/or obtain a modified conservation plan. This list is cumulative for the year and current local conditions may have changed.
Data pending. animal-health alerts are read for Texas (TAHC) and Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico (state ag departments); Wyoming's state veterinarian isn't read yet
Forecast for the center point of Hot Springs County.
Freeze on 6 nights
TodayMostly Sunny55°29°SSE 3–6 mph0% rain
MonMostly Cloudy57°32°S 5–10 mph0% rain
TuePartly Sunny then Slight Chance Rain Showers56°29°S 3–9 mph28% rain
WedMostly Sunny46°23°SE 3–6 mph12% rain
ThuPartly Sunny49°26°SW 5 mph36% rain
FriChance Snow Showers43°23°NNW 3–10 mph53% rain
SatSlight Chance Snow Showers then Mostly Sunny42°–°N 5 mph16% rain
Forecast from the National Weather Service, updated Nov 15, 2026. Wind arrows point where the wind is going; the letters say where it comes from. Windy = 25 mph or more; freeze = a low of 32°F or less. Open the full forecast.
Burn ban
Data pending. Cownty doesn't read an official statewide burn-ban list for Wyoming; county commissions, sheriffs and fire districts post local fire restrictions, so check your county's own notices
No official ban list to check here, so Cownty shows the National Weather Service fire-weather alerts for the county instead: none right now.
National Weather Service active alerts for this county, as of Nov 15, 2026 (source). Fetched Nov 15, 2026.
Rainfall vs normal
Oct 2026
1.05 in 82% of normal
Last 12 months
9.83 in 74%
How to read this
Bars are the rain that fell each month; the dashed line is a normal month (1991-2020 average). Bars below the line = drier than normal.
County-average precipitation, Nov 2025 to Oct 2026. Normal = NCEI's own 1991-2020 average for each month (Oct 2026 normal 1.28 in; same month last year 2.12 in). NCEI posts each month around the 8th of the next and may revise recent months. Source: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance. Fetched Nov 14, 2026.
Wildfires
No current fire perimeter in the county
Nearest current perimeter: Foot Creek (Wildfire, WY), about 85 mi from the county center; 683 acres, 90% contained, perimeter of Nov 8, 2026.
Interagency fire outlines. Small or brand-new fires are often not mapped yet; call 911 for a fire you can see. Layer updated Nov 15, 2026. Source: National Interagency Fire Center. Fetched Nov 15, 2026.
Frost dates
Frost and freeze dates
30-year averages (1991–2020) from the weather stations nearest Hot Springs County. Frost = 32°F; hard freeze = 28°F.
Thermopolis weather station (13 mi away)
Typical last spring frost
Typical first fall frost
Frost (32°F)
152-day growing season
May 5
1 year in 10 it's after May 19
Oct 5
1 year in 10 it's before Sep 23
Hard freeze (28°F)
173-day growing season
Apr 23
1 year in 10 it's after May 8
Oct 15
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 1
Boysen Dam weather station (26 mi away)
farther away No station with freeze dates is close to the county center, so local dates can differ.
Set nationally by FSA; the same in every county. Effective Nov 1, 2026. Source: FSA current loan interest rates. Fetched Nov 9, 2026.
Farm program payments by crop (ARC and PLC)
ARC pays when county crop revenue falls below its guarantee. PLC pays when the national price falls below the reference price. You picked one per crop when you enrolled.
Data pending. last fetch failed: HTTPError: 403 Client Error: Forbidden for url: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/resources/programs/arc-plc/program-data
PLC, 2026 FSA table of Oct 30, 2026
Crop
Reference price
Season avg price
PLC payment
Wheat /bushel
$6.35
$6.30 projected
$0.05projected
Barley /bushel
$5.58
$5.70 projected
$0.00projected
Oats /bushel
$3.05
$3.35 projected
$0.00projected
Corn /bushel
$4.42
$4.70 projected
$0.00projected
Grain Sorghum /bushel
$4.67
$4.50 projected
$0.17projected
Soybeans /bushel
$10.71
$12.00 projected
$0.00projected
PLC rates are national (paid on the farm's PLC yield). Source: FSA 2026 PLC table. FSA decides who is paid.
FSA payments in Hot Springs County
Data pending. last fetch failed: HTTPError: 403 Client Error: Forbidden for url: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/tools/informational/freedom-information-act-foia/electronic-reading-room/frequently-requested/payment-files
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP): notice of loss, application and papers for 2026 losses are due by this date.
Grass grown in 2025: 810 lb per acre, well above normal (135% of the 1991-2020 average of 600).
How to read this
Each bar is one year's grass (darker = perennial grasses, lighter = annuals). The dashed line is the 1991-2020 average. A county average with cropland excluded, not your pasture.
How we got this
Satellite estimate of new above-ground growth of grasses and forbs for the year (annual + perennial, lb/acre), averaged over the county's grassland, pasture and shrubland (89% of the county in USDA's 2025 cropland map; farm fields are left out because the estimate isn't valid there, and the same 2025 map is used for every year). About about 120 m (RAP overview). Source: Rangeland Analysis Platform biomass v3 (data, Jones et al. 2021, CC0) and USDA NASS Cropland Data Layer.
Source: Rangeland Analysis Platform, 2025 season. Fetched Nov 13, 2026.
Useful links
Shipping cattle out of Texas
Each state sets its own entry rules for ID, health certificates and screwworm checks. Look up the state you're shipping to before you load.
Source: Texas A&M AgriLife · link checked Nov 15, 2026
Link only. Cownty doesn't copy or check this content; follow the source.
When to pull cattle off wheat
Grazing past first hollow stem cuts grain yield. Oklahoma State's guide explains how to check a field, and its yearly trial reports first-hollow-stem dates by variety.
Yes. Hot Springs County is on FSA's 2026 Livestock Forage Disaster Program county list, with up to 4 monthly payments for some pasture types. FSA decides each operation's eligibility; apply at your county FSA office by March 1 after the loss year.
What is the drought level in Hot Springs County this week?
On the Drought Monitor map of Nov 10, 2026, most of Hot Springs County was in extreme drought (D3), and the worst part was extreme drought (D3) on 89% of the county. 39 straight weeks with some severe drought (D2) or worse.
No official statewide list to check: Cownty doesn't read an official statewide burn-ban list for Wyoming; county commissions, sheriffs and fire districts post local fire restrictions, so check your county's own notices.
What sale barns are near Hot Springs County?
The nearest USDA-reported sale barns: Riverton WY (48 mi), last report Nov 10, 2026; Billings MT (BLC) (143 mi), last report Nov 9, 2026; Billings MT (PAYS) (143 mi), last report Nov 11, 2026.
Source: USDA AMS Market News reports
What are the upcoming FSA and farm deadlines?
Next: Nov 20, 2026: Micro Farm 2027: last day to buy crop insurance; Nov 20, 2026: Whole Farm Revenue Protection 2027: last day to buy crop insurance. FSA program dates not posted officially are marked "confirm at source" on the calendar.
Source: official agency pages (see Calendar)
Information only; not financial or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Always check the linked official source.
