Drought worsens in Plains, despite cooler temps (nation's worst dry spell in at least a generation)
Source: AP-Excite
By JIM SUHR
ST. LOUIS (AP) - While other corn growers already have knocked down their drought-ravaged crops to feed them to livestock, Nebraska farmer Doug Nelson still waits for his maize to mature, well aware it won't be a banner year.
On the day a new report suggested the nation's worst dry spell in at least a generation is deepening in America's breadbasket, Nelson said Thursday he expects to harvest anywhere from nothing to 43 bushels per acre on his unirrigated acreage, a far cry from the 120 to 140 bushels he'd typically get. On the irrigated land, he could see 150 to 200 bushels an acre; in previous years, Nelson would see a minimum of 180 bushels.
"For the most part, we haven't seen a hit like this since 1974, as far as my career goes," said the 61-year-old Nelson, who farms some 5,000 acres near Wayne. "But we'll have the combines going here in probably another month, and then we'll know for sure.
"You can walk these fields and run into good spots, then walk another part where there's a different soil and have nothing."
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In this Aug. 22, 2012, drought condition water levels have taken their toll on the wildlife at Anderson Lake State Fish & wildlife Area near Astoria, Ill. According to the latest drought report released Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, nearly all of Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri are in extreme or exceptional drought, with Illinois showing the most-dramatic climb in those categories, spiking 17 percentage points in one week, to 96.72 percent, according to the map. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
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