At least 37% of American farmers say they are KILLING existing crops and selling off livestock due to drought after the US experienced its third-hottest July on record

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  A report from the American Farm Bureau Federation found that 37 percent of farmers from the Great Plains through California are killing off crops
• One-third of farmers also reported destroying orchard trees and other multi-year crops, and two-thirds have had to sell off  portions of their herds or flocks
• Others have simply sent their livestock to the slaughterhouse early 
• They have said they were forced to do so due to an ongoing drought which is making it difficult to water crops and care for the animals
• The situation may only get worse as local governments implement further measures to conserve water 
• As a result, the Farm Bureau says, Americans will soon have to pay even more for meat and crops as they are already struggling with inflation

By MELISSA KOENIG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Americans already struggling with inflation may soon have to pay even more for food as farmers kill off their existing crops and sell their livestock amid ongoing drought conditions.

According to a new report from the American Farm Bureau Federation, an insurance company and lobbying group that represents agricultural interests, 37 percent of farmers from the Great Plains through California are killing off crops that won’t reach maturity — up 13 percent from last year.

One-third of farmers also reported destroying or removing orchard trees and other multi-year crops, up from 17 percent the year before, while two-thirds of respondents reported selling off portions of their herd or flock.

They said they were forced to do so due to ongoing drought conditions as the Farm Bureau Federation estimates nearly 60 percent of the west, south and Central Plains are experiencing severe droughts following the third-hottest July on record.

It also ranked in the top 10 hottest Julys on record for every state in the west except for Montana, the National Centers for Environmental Information reported, while the US Department of Agriculture says a ‘rapidly intensifying drought gripped the central and southern Plains, and mid-west.’

Much of the western United States is still under extreme drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor, and Zippy Duvall, the president of the Farm Bureau Federation told CNN Americans may feel the effects of this drought ‘for years to come.’

He explained that US consumers will now have to even spend more on certain meat and crops as they consider ‘partially relying on foreign supplies or shrinking the diversity of items they buy at the store.’ ……More Here

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