No Relief for America's Heartland
More than half of America is in areas designated natural disaster sites by the USDA have been ravaged by a dry spell destroying crops in nearly 1,600 counties in 32 states.
Among those effected by damage, reports Bloomberg News, are approximately 1/3 of the nation’s farmers, which contributes in making this declaration the largest ever of its kind by the Department of Agriculture.
“Agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack tells the country this week in an official statement. “We need to be cognizant of the fact that drought and weather conditions have severely impacted farmers around the country.”
The heartland of America's agriculture community, the Midwest, is suffering from moderate to extreme drought.
“Farmers and ranchers are at the mercy of Mother Nature,” Kansas Governor Sam Brownback says in a statement. Brownback’s state produced $8.2 billion in crops in 2010, but with historic dry weather whithering crops this year, Kansas expects a monumental drop.
Corn, the largest cash crop in the US, has been the hardest hit by the drought with only 35% of corn supply in good to excellent condition as of this past weekend, down from 48% percent only a few weeks ago. Soybean crops, America’s other top agriculture product, has also been largely destroyed.
