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Less flour, more feed as drought turns U.S. wheat into hay

By Sydney Maki and Megan Durisin, Bloomberg News
Jul 19, 2017
Jul 19, 2017 Updated Jul 19, 2017

July Precipitation, percent of mean July 1-18 — Rainfall July 1-18 was less than half of the mean period (1981-2010) in much of the western Corn Belt and Northern Plains.
Map courtesy Midwestern Regional Climate Center

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By Sydney Maki and Megan Durisin, Bloomberg News

The stunted wheat plants on Robert Ferebee’s parched North Dakota farm were in the worst condition he’d seen in almost three decades. Rather than wait until late July or early August to harvest the crop, Ferebee decided last month to cut his losses and his fields.

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