Drought hits US corn production
11 Aug 2012
The US agriculture department has slashed estimates for corn production by 17 per cent to 10.8 billion bushels, even as prices have started soaring.
This was the second consecutive month that the department cut corn and soybean production, even as the severe drought across a dozen US states continued to intensify. The department expects the lowest average corn yield in over 15 years in the wake of the worst drought in decades.
US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack signed disaster designations for an additional 44 counties in a dozen states as primary natural disaster ares due to damage and losses caused by drought and excessive heat.
During the 2012 crop year, USDA has designated 1,628 unduplicated counties across 33 states as disaster areas – 1,496 due to drought – making all qualified farm operators in the areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans.
The US Drought Monitor indicates that 66 per cent of the nation's hay acreage is in an area experiencing drought, while 73 per cent of the nation's cattle acreage is in an area experiencing drought.
During the week ending 5 August USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported that US soybeans rated 39 per cent very poor to poor, surpassing the lowest conditions observed during the drought of 1988.
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