US Faces Worst Drought in Half a Century

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report , from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish The United States is suffering its worst drought in almost 60 years. Moderate to extremely dry conditions spread to 55 percent of the country in June. That was the most since December of 1956. The National Climatic Data Center also said high temperatures in June added to the warmest 12-month period on record. Recordkeeping began in 1895. The drought map showed that conditions improved in the Southeast in June compared to May. But they intensified from the Midwest to the Great Plains and much of the West. Predictions through the end of October suggest that the drought is likely to improve in areas of the Southwest and Southeast. But the drought is expected to continue or intensify in large parts of the country. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with President Obama in July. Mr. Vilsack said the drought has severely affected corn and soybean crops. The United States is the world's leading producer of corn and soybeans. Mr. Vilsack said: "Thirty-eight percent of our corn crop as of today is rated as poor to very poor, 30 percent of our soybeans, poor to very poor." Most of the affected states are in the southern half of the country. But officials said farmlands in the north are now drying up as well. The drought has pushed up prices for corn and soybeans. Both are used in food production and for animal feed. The United Nations Food and Agricultur

Published 2012-08-28 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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