The drought is causing large U.S. commercial crops and further rising commodity prices, including corn and wheat.
The punishing dynamics of a torrid summer were evident this month on the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, an annual event in which farmers visit key growing areas through the cereal belt to gather data on the upcoming harvest. Driving on State Route 14 outside Verdigre, Neb., Randy Wiese turned to see a farmer harvesting hay. The batteries were small.
“This farmer has a stomach ache,” said Wiese, who grows 800 acres of soybeans and corn in Lake Park, Iowa.
He is not alone. Agricultural incomes have been hard hit over the past two years, first when Covid-19 shutdowns hammered prices and then when hot, dry weather reduced production, limiting farmers ’ability to collect the increase. of demand and higher prices.
According to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, extreme heat is cooking in northern North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. North Dakota and Minnesota, in particular, are experiencing near-historic lows of soil moisture, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.