The deluges seen in Europe over the past two weeks are a far cry from current conditions in North America, where a record breaking drought has curbed estimates for the United States maize crop and, some fear, could spark rises in food prices.

Nearly 47 percent of the United States is currently experiencing some level of drought, according to the government’s most recent Drought Monitor, released on Friday (6th July). The government Drought Monitor showed that more of the country is officially in drought than at any other time since records began.

Officials from the National Drought Mitigation Centre at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln revealed that 46.84 percent of the nation's land area is in various stages of drought, up from 42.8 percent a week ago; the previous record was 45.87 percent in drought on Aug. 26, 2003. Of the 48 contiguous states, those south of Canada and North of Mexico, 55.96 percent of the land area is in moderate drought (the second ranking on a five tier scale) or worse, another ominous record.

The effects of moderate drought, according to the monitoring system, include “some damage to crops and pastures” and “streams, reservoirs or wells getting low.” At the other end of the scale, exceptional drought includes widespread crop and pasture losses, as well as shortages of water in reservoirs, streams and wells, creating water emergencies. So far, 8.64 percent of the United States is in either extreme or exceptional drought, the most severe Drought Monitor rankings.

In the US, the maize crop is entering the critical pollination period, though there are concerns at low soil moisture levels and experts have posited that the crop in some seriously affected states may be irreversibly damaged. Maize yields in the state of Indiana are thought to be 20 per cent down on predictions made at the beginning of the season, and soybeans, which still have time to recover if the weather improves, are down 15 per cent.

The arid conditions in the South and North East of the United States have already sparked price rises and analysts from the UN Food and Agriculture organisation last week expressed concerns that the continuing drought could affect world cereal production and result in food price rises over the course of the month.  

Michael J. Hayes, director of the National Drought Mitigation Centre at UNL said, "The recent heat and dryness is catching up with us on a national scale. Now, we have a larger section of the country in these lesser categories of drought than we've previously experienced in the history of the Drought Monitor."

He also said there is a clear potential for the situation to deteriorate, but offered some reassurance, "During 2002 and 2003, there were several very significant droughts taking place that had a much greater areal coverage of the more severe and extreme drought categories. Right now we are seeing pockets of more severe drought, but it is spread out over different parts of the country. It's early in the season, though. The potential development is something we will be watching."

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