Corn Prices Jump To Record Highs As Drought Hits 78 Percent Of U.S.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/issue/

By Stephen Lacey on Aug 10, 2012

Corn Prices Jump To Record Highs As Drought Hits 78 Percent Of U.S. | With 78 percent of the contiguous U.S. in drought conditions — including 24 percent in “exceptional” drought — the U.S. corn crop has taken a major hit. In a report today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its estimates for this year’s corn yield to 10.7 billlion bushels — or nearly 17 percent below July estimates.

That sent corn futures up 3 percent to $8.43 a bushel, a record peak. As the drought has worsened, grain prices have shot up by between 25 and 50 percent since June.