A drought has struck 14 states in North America. In Georgia, maize is said to be burning up in fields and is affecting the pig industry. Farmers have speculated that the unseasonably early and particularly harsh drought onset could rival the dustbowl era.

The drought conditions spread from Florida to Arizona, where, as happened in France at the height of the spring drought this year, farmers have been forced to sell off their cows as they can no longer feed them.

Last month the US Department of Agriculture designated 213 of 254 counties in Texas, the hardest hit state, as natural disaster areas; the region is suffering under sweltering heat and high winds. The New York Times reported on Tuesday (12th July) that over 30 per cent of the state’s wheat crop may be lost as a result of the weather.  

Texas is experiencing its driest nine-month period ever and its hottest June on record. As 90 per cent of the state is currently in the two most severe stages of drought there are reports of cattle dying in fields. Ted McCollum, a beef cattle specialist with Texas AgriLife in Amarillo, said,"We are seeing more incidents of heat stress in cattle and more incidents of death and problems with health."

While in Europe many regions suffered under drought this spring, for a large part of the USA it was floods and tornadoes that posed a threat to agricultural production. The rapid turnaround from floods to drought can be explained according to David Miskus, a drought expert from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. He said, “A strong La Niña shut off the southern pipeline of moisture.’’ He said the weather pattern could ease in the autumn, which would lead to tropical storms throughout the Southern United States, but for many farmers and growers, this may be too late.