Drought spreads, boosts corn to record price

[hue]

Source: Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The worst drought in a half century will continue to plague most of the U.S. Midwest crop region for at least the next 10 days, with only occasional showers providing some relief mainly in the east, an agricultural meteorologist said on Thursday.

America's top two corn and soybean producing states, Iowa and Illinois, are now in the center of the drought as the dryness spreads to the northwest to leech what little moisture remains in already parched soils.
"It looks a little wetter today for Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, but the west is still dry with above-normal temperatures," said Jason Nicholls, meteorologist for AccuWeather.

Rain for the next 10 days will run the gamut from just 40 to 75 percent of normal, with the greatest stress in the western Midwest crop states such as top producer Iowa.
"It got up to 102 to 103 degrees Fahrenheit in Iowa yesterday with no rain, and will be in the 90s today with no rain," Nicholls said.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-drought-cropsbre86h0mp-20120718,0,7620626.story

[docgee]

1. Just curious...

If anyone has any data regarding whether GMO crops are better in the drought or worse.

[Mnemosyne]

2. The grass in Texas sure isn't - cattle deaths link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57459357/gm-grass-linked-to-texas-cattle-deaths/

Welcome to DU, docgee!

[harun]

5. My question as well because I have heard politicians use the

argument that they want GMO's because it will help with drought tolerant varieties.

I am not buying it but would like to see any real data on them one way or the other.

[NickB79]

6. Probably not. Most US corn and soy is already GM

And has been for years, but crop yields are still falling by the day.

There are GM crops in the works specifically designed to survive better in drought conditions, but the problem is they aren't addressing the high heat that typically accompanies it now. This heat interferes with the corn's ability to pollinate, so even if you have healthy-looking cornstalks, they'll have precious few cobs on them.

[Posteritatis]

10. My guess is it would depend on the crop. (nt)

[SoapBox]

3. Stock up on that popcorn now!

...if you thought theater popcorn was expensive before, just wait.

Time to expand the garden.

[amandabeech]

4. Corn and soybeans are an ingredient in many, many processed foods.

They are major feed for poultry, pigs and cattle. When the price of the feed goes up, so does the price of the meat animals, except the sell off of the animals at the beginning of the drought when feed gets too high in price.

Tofu is made out of soybeans, so even some vegetarians will notice an uptick in soy prices.

[NickB79]

7. And people will switch to cheaper, non-corn products as well

So even if you eat no food made from corn, your bill will still go up as there's more demand for groceries made without corn as alternatives to increasingly more expensive corn-based foods.

[lovuian]

8. We sold are excess corn to China (Don't worry)

Now our farmers US farmers are going to be under stress because we sold our corn to China
and US people paying more at the stores
which will drag the economy down further

the stupidity of Capitalism again

[banned from Kos]

9. Stop the silly ethanol subsidies.

Corn should not be processed into transportation fuel.

[FiveGoodMen]

11. Agreed!

[murielm99]

12. How many here are actually Midwestern farmers?

We are. We have property and Illinois and Iowa.

This is very scary, people. And with global warming, it may be only a taste of what is coming.

[alp227]

13. NY Times: Widespread Drought Is Likely to Worsen

"The latest outlook released by the National Weather Service on Thursday forecasts increasingly dry conditions over much of the nation’s breadbasket, a development that could lead to higher food prices and shipping costs as well as reduced revenues in areas that count on summer tourism. About the only relief in sight was tropical activity in the Gulf of Mexico and the Southeast that could bring rain to parts of the South."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/science/earth/severe-drought-expected-to-worsen-across-the-nation.html?pagewanted=all