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The drought stretches from parts of Ohio to California. The historic drought that gripped Texas and other parts of the Southwest last year was more severe, but this year is notable for the ground covered. "To see something on this continental scale where we're seeing such a large portion of the country in drought you have to go back to 1988," said Brad Rippey, a USDA agricultural meteorologist. That year, farmers saw corn yields, or the amount produced per acre, drop by nearly a third. The USDA said Wednesday it now expects farmers to get 146 bushels per acre this year, rather than the 166 bushels per acre it predicted at the beginning of the year. They will harvest an estimated 12.97 billion bushels of grain, a 12 percent reduction from an estimate in June of 14.79 billion bushels. But even with that loss, farmers may still do better than they would have 10 years ago because plant breeders have developed corn varieties better able to withstand drought. The average yield in 2002 was about 129 bushels per acre. Even farmers who lose much or all of their corn this year are unlikely to go under. Most take out crop insurance to cover weather-related losses. Matt Johnson's popcorn fields in Redkey, Ind., have been burning up by the day, and he expects his insurance adjuster to tell him to mow them over if no rain comes by next month. "It's pretty sad," said Johnson. "Everything's just so short, so small. We haven't mowed our yard since sometime in May. We didn't even get an inch of rain in June and haven't gotten an inch yet in July." In the end, it may be farmers' spirits that take the hardest hit. "It's a farmers' nature to want to grow a good crop, and that's a very depressing state to be in when that doesn't happen," said Don Duvall, who farms near the Illinois-Indiana state line in Carmi, Ill. "Not only has it hit the corn crop, but there are well-established trees that are dying," he added. "Leaves are falling like it's autumn, and a lot of the landscape is just dying."
[Associated
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