Amber Waves of Strain

U.S. Farm Bounty Has Grown into a Burden

Across the farm belt last week, it was clear that another bumper crop is on the way. In Illinois, the corn is already seven feet high in spots and not close to topping out. Some corn is tasseling weeks ahead of schedule, and an early harvest is in prospect. Soybeans have also benefited from perfect weather; many plants are waist high and flowering ahead of time. Good, dry planting weather came early this year across Iowa and Nebraska, and even scattered flooding has not hurt the promise of a bountiful harvest. Elsewhere in the Midwest, it is much the same, a...

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