Adding Up Crop Losses From Midwest Floods (1/2)

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Farmers in parts of the American Midwest face a difficult recovery after the worst flooding in fifteen years. Storms that flooded rivers and drowned crops have been blamed for at least twenty-fourth deaths since late May.

The floods displaced tens of thousands of people in several states across America's agricultural heartland. There are concerns that crop losses could push already-high food prices even higher. Fertile lands in some states could be mistaken for lakes. The mighty" class="hjdict" word="mighty" target=_blank>mighty Mississippi River broke through or flowed over the tops of dirt levees in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

The floods hit hardest in Iowa, the leading corn state and also the top soybean producer last year. Thirty-eight centimeters of rain fell on some cropland over a two-week period. Governor Chet Culver has declared most counties as disaster areas. Iowa officials have said that crop damage in that state could reach three billion dollars.

The United States Department of Agriculture is expected to announce estimates of crop losses in the coming days. The department is being urged to let farmers plant corn on land set aside for conservation.

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