DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The nation's corn farmers are having a
hard start this year. First, cold, wet weather delayed planting.
Then Mississippi River flooding led to the loss of 200 square miles
of prime eastern Missouri farmland when federal engineers blew out
a levee to save a small town and sent water surging through a rural
area.
Now, farms in western Missouri and Iowa are watching water rise
from the swollen Missouri River as water is let out of reservoirs
upstream to ease conditions there.
As a result of all the flooding, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture says 1.5 million less acres of corn will be planted
this year than originally expected. But, it says more corn will
still be planted this year than last and farmers could still have a
near-record harvest.