The latest weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report, released Thursday morning (today), shows drought encompassing more of the contiguous U.S. than at any other time since the report’s debut in January 2000.
The analysis, compiled by the National Drought Mitigation Center, shows 55.96% of the 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) in some stage of drought, breaking the previous high of 54.79% set on August 26, 2003. Last week’s report showed 51.13% of the country in drought.
The Weather Channel estimates that 205 million Americans in the Lower 48 – two-thirds of the population – is either in a drought area or an “abnormally dry” area in the Drought Monitor analysis.
http://www.weather.com/news/drought-monitor-record-extent-20120705
Interesting …
a Democrat was president during that drought in January 2000, too.
Russian wheat price at historic highs
Prices for Russian fourth-grade milling wheat skyrocketed due to the drought in the US and Latin America.
Prices rose to a historic 8900 roubles ($276) from 7075 ($219) a metric ton a week ago in the Black sea ports according to the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR).
This is the first price hike since the 2010 drought in Russia when the government was forced to impose an export embargo to prevent home market prices from rising. The embargo was lifted in 2011.
Global wheat and maize prices also jumped nearly 30% mainly due to a drought in the United States and parts of Latin America. According to the US Department of Agriculture about 22 percent of the wheat crop has suffered and less than 50 percent remained intact.
“Another reason for the price hike is the drought in parts of Rostov and Krasnodar regions in Southern Russia that forced the Agriculture Ministry to cut its 2012 harvest forecast to 86,5 million tons from an earlier estimate of 94 million tons”, said Dmitry Rylko, General Director of IKAR.
http://rt.com/business/news/wheat-price-export-drought-391/
Prices are starting to rise in our grocery stores.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) – - Food prices are expected to rise as Indiana experiences what Purdue University experts call the worst drought in the state since 1988.
Purdue Extension officials said Thursday that every American will feel the effects of the current drought.
Experts said meat, corn and dairy prices are likely to increase 2 percent to 2 ½ percent due to poor crop yields.
Indiana is suffering more than any other state that produces corn and soybeans.
http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/green_living/local_green/purdue-drought-pushes-grocery-prices-higher
