DES MOINES, Iowa —
Some cornstalks in fields around the farm where David Kellerman works stand tall, but appearances can be deceiving. When the husks are pulled back, the cobs are empty. No kernels developed as the plants struggled with heat and drought.
The soil in Kellerman’s part of southern Illinois is like dust after less than an inch of rain since mid-April. This week, he and the farmer he works with packed it in. They cut and baled the withered plants to use as hay for their cattle.
As the worst drought in nearly 25 years spreads across the nation, farmers in Illinois and Indiana are finding themselves among the hardest hit. But they are not alone, and conditions are likely to get worse throughout the middle of the country with an unusually hot summer in the forecast.
Almost a third of the nation’s corn crop is already showing signs of damage, and on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released yet another report predicting that farmers will get only a fraction of the corn anticipated last spring when they planted 96.4 million acres, the most since 1937.
It’s too soon to say how that will affect food prices. The cost of meat is most likely to be affected because corn is used to feed cattle, and its price is usually passed along in the cost of hamburger and steak. But meat prices were already rising and were expected to stay high after last year’s drought in Texas forced many ranchers to reduce their herds.
Corn also is widely used as an ingredient — in corn flakes to ketchup, bread and soda pop — but it accounts for a small fraction of their costs compared to such things as transportation and marketing.
A rule of thumb is that food prices typically climb about 1 percent for every 50 percent increase in average corn prices, said Richard Volpe, a USDA food markets research economist.
The government has already predicted food prices will increase this year by as much as 3.5 percent. It won’t be clear until the fall, when all the damage is known, how much the crop loss will add to that, Volpe said.
Kellerman, 28, farms near Du Bois, Ill., with his neighbor Gerald Kuberski. He said they had been holding out hope for rain, but gave up last week after more than a week of 100-degree or hotter days.
Temperatures over 95 degrees while corn is pollinating can stunt the growth of ears and prevent kernels from fully developing.
“Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we had 108 degrees. It just pretty much fried the corn,” Kellerman said.
He and Kuberski considered selling 20 cattle because they expect feed costs to be high, but so many farmers are trying to sell animals that prices in their area have plummeted.
“You can’t really give them away so we decided to keep them and feed them this baled corn,” Kellerman said. “We don’t know how it’s going to work.”
The drought stretches from parts of Ohio to California. The historic drought that gripped Texas and other parts of the Southwest last year was more severe, but this year is notable for the ground covered.
“To see something on this continental scale where we’re seeing such a large portion of the country in drought you have to go back to 1988,” said Brad Rippey, a USDA agricultural meteorologist.
That year, farmers saw corn yields, or the amount produced per acre, drop by nearly a third.
The USDA said today it now expects farmers to get 146 bushels per acre this year, rather than the 166 bushels per acre it predicted at the beginning of the year. They will harvest an estimated 12.97 billion bushels of grain, a 12 percent reduction from an estimate in June of 14.79 billion bushels.
But even with that loss, farmers may still do better than they would have 10 years ago because plant breeders have developed corn varieties better able to withstand drought. The average yield in 2002 was about 129 bushels per acre.
Even farmers who lose much or all of their corn this year are unlikely to go under. Most take out crop insurance to cover weather-related losses.
Matt Johnson’s popcorn fields in Redkey, Ind., have been burning up by the day, and he expects his insurance adjuster to tell him to mow them over if no rain comes by next month.
“It’s pretty sad,” said Johnson. “Everything’s just so short, so small. We haven’t mowed our yard since sometime in May. We didn’t even get an inch of rain in June and haven’t gotten an inch yet in July.”
In the end, it may be farmers’ spirits that take the hardest hit.
“It’s a farmers’ nature to want to grow a good crop, and that’s a very depressing state to be in when that doesn’t happen,” said Don Duvall, who farms near the Illinois-Indiana state line in Carmi, Ill.
“Not only has it hit the corn crop, but there are well-established trees that are dying,” he added. “Leaves are falling like it’s autumn, and a lot of the landscape is just dying.”
Top Story 2
Related Photos
-
Drying out: In this file photo taken July 4, corn in a southern Vigo County field is drying out from the bottom up. Lack of timely rains has doomed much of Indiana's corn crop. (Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis)
Discussion
Some corn farmers mow fields as drought worsens
- Top Story 2
-
-
Nothing to do this weekend? The Trib-Star's 'BASH section offers some suggestions
Community Theatre of Terre Haute’s main stage season finale opens this Friday, with the hit Broadway comedy “Social Security,” directed by Sonni Crawford.
-
Nabors returns, Henderson out as Indy 500 singers
INDIANAPOLIS — Gomer Pyle will be back for this year's Indianapolis 500. Carol Brady is staying home.
-
10 Things to Know for Friday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
-
Banks of the Wabash Festival kicks off
The 2013 Banks of the Wabash Festival, scheduled May 23 through June 1 in Fairbanks Park, celebrates 40 years along the banks of the Wabash River, 30 under the sponsorship of the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department.
-
AAA: 31.2M drivers to take Memorial Day road trip
It's going to be another busy Memorial Day weekend on the nation's highways. From Thursday through Monday, 31.2 million Americans will drive 50 miles or more to a beach, campground or other getaway, according to car lobbying group AAA.
-
UK PM: Brutal London attack appears to be terror
LONDON — A brutal attack in broad daylight near a military barracks in London left one man dead and two suspects hospitalized Wednesday after a shootout with police. British Prime Minister David Cameron said the attack appeared to be terror related.
-
VIDEO: Orlando shootout tied to Boston bomb suspect
The FBI says it was involved in a fatal shooting near Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reports that the victim was a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother suspected in the Boston Marathon bombing.
-
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
-
Slideshow: Aftermath of massive tornado
Storm victims were pulled from the rubble and residents began surveying the damage late Monday and early Tuesday in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, where a powerful tornado destroyed entire neighborhoods and left dozens dead.
-
10 Things to Know for Tuesday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Afternoon Update: Fire chief says search almost complete in Oklahoma
The storm killed at least 24 people, including at least nine children.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Update: Oklahoma, other tornado-hit states brace for more
SHAWNEE, Okla. — When Lindsay Carter heard on the radio that a violent storm was approaching her rural Oklahoma neighborhood, she gathered her belongings and fled. When she returned, there was little left.
-
Taylor Swift wins 8 trophies at Billboard Awards
LAS VEGAS — Another day, another domination for Taylor Swift: She was the red hot winner at the Billboard Music Awards.
-
10 Things to Know for Monday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Monday, May 20:
-
Mark Bennett: High-profile mural connects historical dots from city to river
At 96 feet wide and 2 stories tall, the power, impact and value of the Wabash will be evident.
-
Veterans take to the trees
Cristal Bednar took photos of her husband, Justin, as he laboriously climbed his way up a “Dangle-Duo” to get to a zipline at Indiana State University’s Sycamore Outdoor Center.
-
Powerball jackpot closing in on another record
DES MOINES, Iowa — Less than 10 months after three tickets split a world-record lottery prize, the jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing was nearing historic territory once again.
-
A battle of secret tactics
The embarrassing arrest of a suspected CIA officer in Moscow is the latest reminder that, even after the Cold War, the U.S. and Russia are engaged in an espionage battle with secret tactics, spying devices and training that sometimes isn't enough to avoid being caught.
-
UPDATE: Fire damages buildings in downtown Greencastle
GREENCASTLE, Ind. — Fire badly damaged several buildings today near the courthouse square in Greencastle, with flames shooting through the roofs as firefighters from several communities were called in to the central Indiana city to help.
-
Terre Haute to host MVC baseball championship in 2014
After 32 years, Terre Haute will once again host the Missouri Valley Conference baseball championship tournament next season.
-
Former Peabody mine to be industrial mega site
A new industrial mega site is ready for development in southwestern Vigo County.
-
Records: Cleveland suspect faced prior complaints
A man charged with holding three women captive for about a decade had been accused of threatening his neighbors, attacking his common-law wife and committing violations during his career as a school bus driver, according to records released Monday.
-
What are you doing this weekend?
Here are some suggestions from the Tribune-Star's 'BASH section.
-
Block where women found a friendly, careful place
The block where horror happened has many faces. On one end, magnificent stained-glass windows rise two stories up a handsome brick church. At the other end, truck bays open into a bleak warehouse. In between are about 20 houses, some tidy, some with boards or broken glass instead of windows. Back yards melt into a block-long cemetery filled with long grass and crooked tombstones.
-
Details emerge in Cleveland captivity case
In the years after his friend's daughter vanished while walking home from school, Ariel Castro handed out fliers with the 14-year-old's photo and performed music at a fundraiser held in her honor.
-
Gov. Otis Bowen dies at 95
Otis R. Bowen, who overhauled Indiana’s tax system as governor before helping oversee the federal response to the burgeoning AIDS epidemic during President Ronald Reagan’s second term, has died. He was 95.
-
George Jones, 81, dies today in Nashville
Nashville, Tenn. – Country Music Hall of Famer, Grand Ole Opry member, and Kennedy Center Honoree George Glenn Jones died today, April 26, 2013, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. He was hospitalized April 18 with fever and irregular blood pressure.
-
Cross-country walker finds new enlightenment on purposeful journey
With each mile, each new town, Dave Brown enlightens others and learns something himself. The 61-year-old Philadelphian left Atlantic City, N.J., on Feb. 28 on a walk across America along historic U.S. 40. His goal is to raise awareness of ovarian cancer,
- More Top Story 2 Headlines
-
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Suspect in Killing of Officer Found Dead in Cell
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Today in History May 24
Two Suspects in Murder Known to London Police
Sheriff: No Sign Killing of 2 Kids Was Planned
Britain Braces for Possible Copycat Attacks
Today in History May 25
Officials: Truck Hit Bridge Before Collapse
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
