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A farmer cuts down corn to be used for silage (WDBJ7 - First Alert Weather) |
One of the worst droughts since the 1950s is damaging crops and rural economies and threatening to drive your food prices to record levels.
The latest Drought Monitor places over half the country in a moderate drought. While, the worst of it is out west, farmers are seeing the domino effect right here in Virginia.
Bedford county cattle farmer Bill Nance knows he has no room to complain. He's seen the stories of farms out west where whole crops were dried up, and farmers forced to sell all their cattle because of the lack of water and grain.
As the Director of the Bedford area Farm Bureau, Nance also has noticed the impacts of the drought trickle to cattle owners on the east coast.
"While a majority of the corn that's grown in Virginia, stays in Virginia," says Nance, "most of our cattle go west" The cattle are raised on Virginia farms, then sold to larger farms and taken out west where the cattle are fed grain.
"When the grain prices go high in the west, our price for cattle goes low in the east." Meaning his cows aren't worth as much. "Cattle that I've sold for one-dollar seventy-five cents a pound, is now going for one-dollar thirty," says Nance.
Spotty rain chances are forecast for drought-stricken areas of the Midwest, but not nearly enough. This means the drought will continue.
"If corn prices go up, wheat goes up. Your meat prices, poultry beef, pork all of that will be impacted," says Nance.
This will mean consumers will end up paying more for everything from cereal and bread, to high fructose corn syrup in soda and even ethanol in gasoline.
