The Drought's Food-Chain Reaction

From breakfast cereal to beer, prices may be on the rise

Rain in the ninth inning of a baseball game is usually no cause for celebration, especially if the home team is losing. But when drops started falling in Kansas City last week as the Royals tried to catch the Chicago White Sox, 23,000 fans let out a rousing cheer. No wonder they were delighted to get wet. Missouri is deep in the heart of drought country: some 80% of its corn crop and more than 60% of its soybeans are in poor-to-very-poor condition. In Chicago the news that scattered showers were sprinkling the blistered Plains and Midwest created a near panic...

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