MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa — Corn and livestock producers warned Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad on Tuesday that tough times are looming for farmers and the state's powerful agriculture industries as the drought gripping the state and nation gets worse.
During a public forum hosted by Branstad, representatives of Iowa's pork, cattle, corn and soybeans industries expressed alarm about the impact of what state climatologist Harry Hillaker called the worst drought in Iowa since 1988.
They predicted a ripple effect throughout the state as smaller-than-expected harvests cause prices to spike and create a shortage of grain products that feed livestock. Pork and beef producers will be hit particularly hard because they lack an equivalent to the crop insurance that helps protect most corn and soybean farmers, they said.
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