Agriculture & Water Stress: Kansas drought conditions are holding steady but worsening in southwest and south central areas, with forecasts pointing to hotter-than-normal weather and only a modest chance of rain—raising pressure on crops and weed management. Farm Policy: Kansas Farmers Union leader Nick Levendofsky says the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee’s failure to move the farm bill forward likely means no farm bill this year, with SNAP-related budget cuts driving division. Crop Disease Watch: K-State Extension continues its wheat streak mosaic guidance, focusing on variety selection as part of an integrated plan to reduce future outbreaks driven by volunteer wheat and wheat curl mites. Livestock Handling Tech: McCarty Family Farms hosted the Humane Handling Institute at all three Kansas locations, using hands-on training and AR “cattle vision” goggles to improve humane handling and facility design. Road & Construction: KDOT plans a $2M resurfacing project on U.S. 24 in Stockton, with lane shifts and sidewalk ramp work starting the week of Aug. 10. Local Government: Hays city commissioners reviewed the draft 2027 budget, keeping operations steady while adjusting for employee pay and cost-of-living changes. Public Safety & Health: Wichita opened free cooling centers and added Wichita Transit vouchers to help riders reach them during extreme heat. Pharma Accountability: Kansas AG Ford joined a coalition announcing a $400M settlement in principle with Sandoz over alleged generic drug price-inflation and reduced competition.