Nationwide Drought Sends Meat Prices Sky-High

According to the US Department of Agriculture, the nationwide drought and record high-temperatures sweeping the country have destroyed 2012’s yield of corn and soybean crops—in some places decimating entire regions. The situation means not only record-high prices for soy, corn, hay, and other feed ingredients, but for the prices of animal products as well. Dr. Scott Brown, agriculture economist at the University of Missouri, forecasts an eight percent increase in the prices of meat, dairy, and poultry in 2013 and possibly even 2014 due to the drought. Meteorologists are predicting an onslaught of rain and cooler temperatures to arrive late-August, which wil turn up too late for farm animals scheduled to be destroyed immediately by producers who can’t afford the costs of feed.