Corn farmers fearing a 2nd Dust Bowl as drought intensifies

[Chuck]

Analysts weigh the broader prospect of rising prices for food and effects on ethanol production.

Monica Davy - NYTIMES - July 4, 2012

Why should the fuel crop crowd out the food crop now?! --Ed.

Hartford City, Ind. — Across a wide stretch of the Midwest, sweltering temperatures and a lack of rain are threatening what had been expected to be the nation’s largest corn crop in generations.

Already, some farmers in Illinois and Missouri have given up on parched and stunted fields, mowing them over. National experts say parts of five corn-growing states, including Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, are experiencing severe or extreme drought conditions. And in at least nine states, conditions in one-fifth to one-half of cornfields have been deemed poor or very poor, federal authorities reported this week, a notable shift from the high expectations of just a month ago.... [Read More]

[ILAveo]

In my area the corn looks good so far, maybe about two weeks ahead of usual development. A recent trip I took to Western Mo showed a lot of corn that looked pretty poor. If the farmers have cattle they'll be chopping it for silage rather than harvesting grain.

It looks like a drought year in this area, maybe about like '88?

[herm]

expect higher gas prices if ethanol goes up.. but in many states* the blenders can dial back the mixture so some of you with antiquated cars might get higher mileage to compensate. I am amazed the NYT did not mention AGW once in that article, is this a change in the message from the traditional news sources?.

* Florida as an example, the labels on the pumps say "UP to 10% ethanol".. in Florida blenders can reduce the mix if ethanol becomes more expensive than gasoline.

[wick1ert]

Corn here is looking pretty good. I think we've gotten lucky with some storms bringing a little rain. I'm not sure if my reprogramming/adjusting of my sprinkler controller or if we had better weather here this year, but my water usage for 2Q was down a little from last year. We've been in the mid-upper 90s for almost the last 2 weeks, with not much end in sight. If it doesn't break soon, I've got a feeling the farmers here are going to start to feel it. I think those storms and their quick but heavy rains are saving us a little this year so far.

[phoebeisis]

I always think of TX and Oklahoma when I think of the 1930's dust bowl.
Were those middle mid west states heavily "dust bowled" in the 1930's?

Is that reservoir-Ogalalla (sic) under them-or is it farther south?
I wonder how much $$ it takes to pump water from that deep??

[thunderstruck]

Yet another reason to do away with ethanol. Nothing like the government mandating that we use something that is going to be in short supply to supplement oil which we are awash in right now. Food is meant to be eaten, not burned in cars.

[PaleMelanesian]

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

It's drought, but scattered here and there and not as bad as TX last year. There's plenty of good wet farmland to go around. I drove Michigan to texas last week and only a couple 1-hour stretches looked dry. There were miles and miles of lush looking cornfields. I'm not worried.

[phoebeisis]

Just curious
But where does the water in those mid west clouds come from?
Does it come from south-Gulf of Mexico?
Or from the west-pacific hard to believe much makes it over the rocky mts
or east atlantic ? or even the N arctic ocean-across canada??
The midwest is a long way from big bodies of water(other than the great lakes??)
I'm surprised it rains much at all-1000 miles from big oceans-

Yeah where does that rain come from??
Like the big storm that just swept the midwest and east coast-lotta rain??

[ILAveo]

Originally Posted by phoebeisis

I always think of TX and Oklahoma when I think of the 1930's dust bowl.
Were those middle mid west states heavily "dust bowled" in the 1930's?

Is that reservoir-Ogalalla (sic) under them-or is it farther south?
I wonder how much $$ it takes to pump water from that deep??

The dust bowl was in a different area at least two states (~500-1000 miles) west/southwest of where the reporter was talking about. You can't expect somebody from flyover-land (i.e. New York) to get their Mid-continent geography and history straight.

The Ogalalla aquifer was under parts of the historical dust bowl, but is nowhere near Indiana. Most of the discussed drought area is un-irrigated because in a normal year there is no need.

[RichXKU]

Originally Posted by herm

expect higher gas prices if ethanol goes up.. but in many states* the blenders can dial back the mixture so some of you with any fuel injected cars will get higher mileage to compensate.

Fixed.