Photos: Midwest drought pushes grain prices past records

Posted Jul 19, 2012

By vwilliams

Oppressive heat and a worsening drought in the Midwest pushed grain prices near or past records on Wednesday as crops wilted, cities baked and concerns grew about food and fuel price inflation in the world’s top food exporter.(Reuters)(AP)

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A dead fish lies in Mitchell Lake in the Ballard Wildlife Management Area near Barlow, Ky., as lack a of rain and excessive heat deplete oxygen from the water Wednesday, July 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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The sun rises Sunday, July 15, 2012, in Pleasant Plains, Ill. Corn stalks are struggling in the heat and continuing drought that has overcome most of the country. The nation’s widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
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One stunted plant remains in a row of corn in rural Springfield, Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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In this July 16, 2012 photo, Rodney Byars, center, walks ahead of his brother, Rich, through a field of dead and stalled corn in Geff, Ill. Over 50 percent of the U.S. is in drought and in the southern part of Illinois they have endured extreme heat and very little rain for more than two months. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
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In this July 16, 2012 photo, corn stalks wilt and burn away at the base as they stand in dry soil after enduring weeks of extreme temperatures in Geff, Ill. In southern Illinois many farmers are filing a total loss for 2012 and hoping they survive until the next growing season. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
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In this Monday, July 16, 2012 photo, a farmer peels back the husk from an ear of corn damaged by weeks of extreme temperatures in Geff., Ill. In southern Illinois many farmers are filing a total loss for 2012 and hoping they survive until the next growing season. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
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In this Monday, July 16, 2012 photo, a field of corn that has missed pollination due to high temperatures and little rain stands in Geff., Ill. The field is considered a total loss by the farmer. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
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Stunted corn grows in dry cracked soil in rural Springfield, Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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Stunted corn in a field, foreground, overlooks healthier fields of corn, rear left, and soy beans, rear right, in rural Springfield, Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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Wilted corn plants remain in a dry field in rural Springfield, Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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One stunted plant remains in a row of corn in rural Springfield, Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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Rows of corn damaged by drought are planted in a parched field in Lousiville, Ill. on Monday, July 16, 2012. Over ten days of triple digit temperatures with little rain in the past two months is forcing many farmers to call 2012 a total loss. Rows of corn sit under high temperatures, burning and crisping until the stalks eventually fall, burning into the dry soil. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
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Four rows of corn left for insurance adjusters to examine are all that remain of a 40-acre cornfield in Geff, Ill. that was mowed down Monday, July 16, 2012. Over ten days of triple digit temperatures with little rain in the past two months is forcing many farmers to call 2012 a total loss. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
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A field of corn withers under triple-degree heat north of Wichita, Kan., in Sedgwick County Monday, July 16, 2012. The drought gripping the United States is the widest since 1956, according to new data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Fifty-five percent of the continental U.S. was in a moderate to extreme drought by the end of June, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., said in its monthly State of the Climate drought report. That's the largest percentage since December 1956, when 58 percent of the country was covered by drought. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Mike Hutmacher)
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Stalled corn is displayed on a farm in Geff, Ill on Monday, July 16, 2012. 53-year-old farmer David White says he has never experienced such extreme drought. Little rain and long lasting heat has dried up his acres forcing him to declare this year a "total loss." (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
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The exposed bottom of the Mississippi River is baked and cracked by extreme heat and lack of rain Tuesday, July 17, 2012 near St. Louis. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
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Boats sit on the dry, cracked bottom in a dry cove at Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Ind., Monday, July 16, 2012. The reservoir is down nearly 6 feet from normal levels and being lowered 1 foot every five days to provide water for Indianapolis. The nation’s widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
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A pontoon is anchored on a mud flat as the owner could not reach their dock at Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Ind., Monday, July 16, 2012. The reservoir is down nearly 6 feet from normal levels and being lowered 1 foot every five days to provide water for Indianapolis. The nation’s widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
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A petrified tree branch and river stones are visible in the receding Mississippi River near St. Louis on Tuesday, July 17, 2012. High temperatures and little or no rain is dropping Mississippi River water levels. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)
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Cory Furman seals asphalt in 100 degree temperatures Wednesday, July 18, 2012 in Springfield, Ill. Along with the unrelenting heat wave, the nation's widest drought in decades is spreading. More than half of the continental U.S. is now in some stage of drought, and most of the rest is abnormally dry. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
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The Missouri bank of the Mississippi River is exposed Wednesday, July 18, 2012, as viewed from Ft. Jefferson Memorial Cross of the Confluence in Wickliffe, Ky. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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A bather jumps over deeper water onto a sand bar at the Platte River near the Louisville state recreation area in Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Low water flow due to lack of precipitation has exposed large areas of the river bed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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Vacationers seek refuge from the heat along the Platte River near the Louisville state recreation area in Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Low water flow due to lack of precipitation has exposed large areas of the river bed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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Vacationers seek refuge from the heat in the Platte River near the Louisville state recreation area in Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Low water flow due to lack of precipitation has exposed large areas of the river bed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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A tow boat negotiates the Mississippi River while passing Columbus-Belmont State Park in Columbus, Ky., Wednesday, July 18, 2012. The bank along the Missouri that is normally under water is exposed due to the lack of rain and extreme heat. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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Due to the heat and drought, these signs were seen on the State Hospital Grounds in Evansville on Wednesday, July 18, 2012. (AP Photo/The Evansville Courier & Press, Kevin Swank)
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People walk past longnose gars and a catfish on a sand bar at the Platte River near the Louisville state recreation area in Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Low water flow due to lack of precipitation has exposed large areas of the river bed. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
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The Hickman Ferry sits idle Wednesday, July 18, 2012, at the Port of Hickman due to low water in the harbor in Hickman, Ky. The ferry transports vehicles between Dorena, Mo., and Hickman when operating. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee) (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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Corn struggles to grow due to a lack of water and excessive heat in a field farmed by Bill Cassibry of Paducah, Ky., Wednesday, July 18, 2012, near Paducah, Ky. Cassibry said he has only received 2.71 inches of rain at his home since March. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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Corn struggles to grow due to a lack of water and excessive heat in a field farmed by Bill Cassibry of Paducah, Ky., Wednesday, July 18, 2012, near Paducah, Ky. Cassibry said he has only received 2.71 inches of rain at his home since March. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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Corn struggles to grow due to a lack of water and excessive heat in a field farmed by Bill Cassibry of Paducah, Ky., Wednesday, July 18, 2012, near Paducah, Ky. Cassibry said he has only received 2.71 inches of rain at his home since March. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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Large cracks are seen along the shoreline of the harbor in Hickman, Ky., where the Hickman Ferry sits idle, in background, Wednesday, July 18, 2012. Low water levels in the harbor and in the Mississippi River have stopped the ferry from traveling between Dorena, Mo., and Hickman. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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Soy beans struggle to grow due to a lack of water and excessive heat in a field in Fulton County near Hickman, Ky., Wednesday, July 18, 2012. Lack of rain and excessive heat has damaged crops nation-wide. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)
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Drought stricken corn saw little relief from a storm cell (seen in background) that pushed through LaPorte, IN Tuesday July 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Bob Wellinski, News Dispatch)
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Allen County Farmer Randy Schaefer speaks Wednesday, July 18, 2012 about drought-stricken farms, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Schaefer, who owns a total of 2,000 acres with 900 acres consisting of corn, has lost two thirds of his corn crop already. (AP Photo/The Journal Gazette, Swikar Patel) NEWS-SENTINEL OUT