Texas Agriculture Daily News
Drought in 2012 will hit American agriculture, food prices
Friday, June 29, 2012
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American farmers and ranchers won’t soon forget the epic drought of 2011, but experts say 2012 could be worse. The U.S. Drought Monitor currently shows 72 percent of the continental U.S. is in “abnormally dry” or worse drought conditions, compared to 32 percent of the country under the classification last June.
American agriculture could be hit harder this year, according to a recent article in CattleNetwork. Meteorologists are comparing 2012 conditions to the 1988 drought, which cost American agriculture $78 billion. Weather concerns have pushed up the price of corn nearly 30 percent in the past two weeks, which also will impact feeder cattle prices.
Increased input costs will impact consumer food prices, as well. With the beef industry already suffering, and drought conditions affecting corn and soybean yields, both American agriculture and consumers could be in for another expensive year.
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