this spring while i was watching fields miles away get rains that sputtered out at the edge of my phone at least my crops were driving the root as deep and fast as they could to survive. while fields aren't flourishing their decline lass been slow compared to those area where suddenly the water stops and the root system was less developed. it is i think with parts of the midwest where the drought is late arriving, and where the temperatures are more extreme, markets are now responding to the fading promise of the western crop. it could come down to a race between maturing plant depth. time for the headlines. here is tine. >> thank you john. the drought has caught the eye of the white house. the agriculture secretary briefed the president this week about the damage. following that meeting he said the agriculture department need the tools to help farmers and ranchers. >> the most important thing is

for congress to take action to provide some direction in and help so people know what will happen. what kind of protection they will have. that is really important and that's -- want to get to work on the food bill, extend existing programs action whatever it may be, having that done as soon as possible will be helpful. >> he also announced in addition to the 1200 plus counties declared disaster areas, another 39 have been added. this means one out of every three in this country now has. it. livestock produce could be hurt the worst by the drought. there is a lot of worry among livestock producers. in arkansas 70% of the state is now in extreme drought. a rancher said he can no long era ford to feed his cattle forcing him to sell off a large

portion of his herd. >> going to be maybe part time farmers. we will have at the most half and we may be down to even -- 75% -- 25% of our cattle herd. >> a local livestock auction has soon their numbers double or triple from this time last year. u.s.d.a. reports the condition of the corn crop dipped another nine points in just a week. less than a third is good to excellent. while the western corn belt had been holding on the area seeing significant decline. iowa and minnesota are both down in points. the condition of the soybean crop is similar to corn. a third is good to excellent with the six point drop from last week. 16% is shedding pods. there is better news for the cotton crop. almost half is rated good to excellent. almost holding steady with last week. now gets get a closer look at crop with john.

>> gr . >> we start crop watch in the greater illinois area and my own farm. our corn has endured surprisingly well with less than three inches since may first. the crop is length a month ahead of schedule. we have a photograph from one of our biggest fans, john morgan of course, he -- he said the soybeans look good but looks dereceiving because there are no pods or flowering. in idaho 84% of the winter wheat is good to excellent. harvest hasn't started yet. most of the state has good top soil moisture. when united states farm report takes over to talk market was greg hunt and . their discussion starts in two minutes. stay with us.

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round table today. we have greg hunt. archer financial. joe -- standard grain and we had a very unusual week. i think this is going to be a record year, maybe not a good record year but what happened last week. >> we had record high prices posted in corn market, posted in the soybean market. from a trader's perspective, it's exciting stuff we are seeing here. not so exciting from the agriculture community. lue have farmers with poor republicans, lie crops. it's turning into a dire situation. >> you are setting -- you know kind of nodding a little bit that you agree. it's a bad situation. who is it good for in anybody? >> no. not really. it's -- it's --. >> talk about it eventually going to get to consumers, is

that true or not? >> we will have to ration demand. through ethanol, we are going to see how far we go until someone cries uncle to get feed uses down from the last number, at least another 600 -- bushels. we will have to take exports down a hundred and that's on a deal that somewhere around 132. that's where the trade is somewhere in this -- 135 to 130 area. >> the yield bushels per acre on corn. >> that's where their heads are at right now. then we will have to see what happens in the western corn belt. that will be the next when we come in monday, predicated they already know the crop ratings

will be done. the beans onto other hand -- whistle thinks we will get rains there. 88, we did have normal rains, four inches in august and trying to put a perspective back to corn, probably have to see a yield like 125 to get somewhere below where we were to make that comparison. >> i talked to a lot of guys -- they say it'll have to get high enough to put a real limit on demand. we are talking act world demand as well as livestock, represent knowledge, that sort of stuff. i have been -- do we have a lot of upside to go. what happens when we get to that top number? >> i don't think there is a number. fundamental guy looking at supply demand situation. there is no clear cut answer to where demand will be choked off and if you are a guy -- there is nothing up there but air on

top of the soybean chart. it's very difficult to put a top on it. a lot of money in the market. talking earlier -- the trader disn 't have the biggest situation they have had in the corn market. i can't put a number on it. >> who is trading the market then? we don't have as many funds that we are in there but who is it? >> i think we will -- enter a phase shortly, where spreads are -- we are already seen versions in these markets and that's -- what -- i think that will be the function of the market, the rash and it's going to be the possibilities to some of the spreads in corn, just have to keep moving pounding higher until -- someone calls uncle. we did not see rationing by the

livestock industry back in 2008. they -- have obviously made good mondayy here over the last few years and a lot of different sectors but -- i do not think and i don't have evidence but my gut here, the way the market went up and i think it caught a lot of people in the feed industry that's basically flat footed. it was -- you know --. >> we thought we were going to have a big yield. >> turned out --. >> five weeks ago. most of these guys, can buy corn. lower, i'm a happy camper. i think that's gotten away from us. the evidence would be open interest hasn't gone up, you -- this whole run up. the funds have only add at least as of last tuesday and that 50,000 contracts, from where they were when i was here five weeks ago. when i was down nine dollars.

that's nothing. so, so that respect you don't have that crazy long up here scared to death. you see guys like the chine section probably going to cancel. >> we will get into that when we come back in just a moment.

. greg hunt, joe, from standard grain. we were getting ready and you -- russell going to come to you joe. talked about who is going to buy internationally. can kleina continue to pay more for what they have to have? >> well, actually they will probably -- be certain guy that haven't done it this week that just made the market score around, just showing you how firm the market is, some of the

smaller guys -- probably cancel cargoes of corn. that would have knocked the market -- not in this market. ten, 15-cent breaks, snap right back. they obviously have bought the corn around 5:25. now they can replace that with the wheat out of australia, that's economical thing to do. you won't be able to buy that. if they sold it they won't get it back. if they think they can they won't get it done. we need to ration on all sides, here now the easiest thing probably going to be -- the exports come down more, ending carry, this crop up -- just on the lack of ethanol produced last few weeks, that will go out to the new crop.

soon that last year or this crop year, the users knew they had the threat of corn so they -- the next two months. or get them in september. it's after september that i would be concerned about. these guys will start watching, feeder pigs geffen way two weeks ago. what the feeder cattle market has done here. this is all the functions of the star but the most important thing is the inversions. >> we are in a demand market at this point in time. >> the jm and -- the march bean spread. $1.25. run out of beans number one. now the corn, just find out about yields, just see how the

spreads hold together and the more they go up . >> what is he going to do? what does he fled to do in order to plan. we have another year out there. >> one of the things we talked about was crop scout. higher crop scout. see what's out there and see what crop potential he had. >> even if you are really good. even if you are really -- have a good handle producer. >> a lot of guys -- just think some of them may have sold more than they --. >> last thing in the world you would want to have to do is have to make a sale and buy it back at nine or ten dollars. that's the worst case situation. >> we are going through that it now. >> but it's a savings. pull the trigger even now. >> you know without doing what joe said there. you know taking a big risk. >> better talk to crop scout, to a banker and seaway funs you

have available if you are going to hedge. make sure you have the cash. if not i think options are a real strategy. some of the put options for a seven dollar strike have gotten to the point where i think it's affordable. around 30-cents a day. that will be different by next week. that's a good way to lock in a profit. >> concern this time act the next government report? are they going to try to measure things out? >> usually that report is kind of like a --. >> yeah. >> this year it -- it'll be a pretty live meeting on what is going on. and then if there is something insanely scary that comes out of that, i -- we are -- you will start hearing stuff about wins on ethanol and start here and the mandate thing was probably the biggest thing this

week that they have kept that off the table, that told the agents, five seconds, producers, positive one. >> hedge your risk, know what you have out there. we will be back with more in just a moment.

. mike hoffman joining us now with the weather and we are starting to approach what my father talked about all his life. the 1930s. the drought. the extent of it i think is now into those kind of stats. >> even past 88 in the 50s. >> right right. 88, came and went. coast to coast. it is and it's horrible and we have is this had that some perhaps erosion in the wisconsin lower great lakes, we saw this complex just dump anything from one to three

inches. maybe we can start as we head through the rest of the growing season eat away at some of the drought. barring a big tropical system it's hard to get rid of a drought because it just keeps expanding. if we can start eat away at the edges in places we can start whittling it down. let's hope. let's check out the situation then. as far as the jet stream as we -- the ridge is still strongest in the eastern rockies and the western plains. you probably know that. we have had little pieces of energy and troughs in the great lakes, same in the park northwest. through the week this has been persistent on the computer -month-olds. that shows a good trough at the end of the weekend for the great lakes and the northeast. that could be a good cooldown. what that could do -- southward late next week and actually cause rain farther south into the sprout start eating things

away. that's something we have to watch. let's look at the maps as we head day by day. we are looking at a low pressure system. we start the week cold front scattered showers and thunderstorms, that will stall out though. that isn't coming quickly. another cold front -- hit and miss, monsoonal thunderstorm, all of this green here from the ohio valley southward is just hit and miss. spotty thunderstorms, and each afternoon this week basically, there is wednesday, that first cold front moves through the nation's capitol and then stalls out. comes back northward as a warm front. we will have scattered showers and thunderstorms, a lot of times the majority of the rain is north of the warm front front. that could by good news. hit and miss thunderstorms in the southeast and also as you can see back to the west, areas of showers and thunderstorms, now by friday -- that could be more substantial front with cool air into the western great

lakes, thunderstorms along this front. continues to dive toward the southwest. stalls out back across the west. hit and miss showers and thunderstorms through the western portions of the country. back in the next half with a longer range forecast. ururur

. i probably won't be watching much of the olympics this year. to start with it won't fit into my regular tv schedule and could even interfere with my nap time. it's a larger problem that was brought to be by a friend that just left for a tour of northern europe. he will visit his daughter in london during the games. he asked if i had been following the weather across the pond. since i don't care about the weather on the other side of the county -- if you are wondering where all the rain we need in the midwest are, watch

the olympics, northern europe is experiencing one of the coolest and wettest summers ever. the famous 1150-bushel an acre are behind schedule. the whole european crop is in danger of low yield and poor quality even the unflappable brits wearing out their umbrellas. european weather people point to a stubborn jet stream. this keeps much of the continent under soggy skies and temperatures in the 60s. their weather woes are not unrelated. as mike said our storm track is way to far north compared to normal and like europe it's not budget. give enemy current weather worry, watching runners flash around a track has little attraction to me. i may make an exacception for beach volleyball. let us know what you think. send e-mail to mailbag at united states farm report.com

or call and leave us a voicemail. coming up in the next half hour, a goldn 't state theme park where healthy eating is the star attraction. stay with us many the spend half is coming up. . >> united states

. today national media start making the connection between drought and food prices. could economic forces bring back lean finely textured beef and how will consumers respond and don't miss tractor trails as we ride along with hundreds of antique machines. >> united states farm report brought to you by the 2012 chevy, the most depend a, longest lasting full sides pick up on the road. hello and welcome to . >> hello and welcome to united states farm report. the knock on effects of short crops are suddenly receiving looks. food price inflation is a real possibility as crops in india, and central asia have their own

problems. watch the media battle unfolding between livestock and ethanol organizations for example? the battles between agriculture routes are fought with danger. what we don't need now are angry words andself serving propaganda. let's get started the headlines. >> the drought-continues to be the top story on united states farm report. the u.s.d.a.a session damage firsthand across the eastern corn belt. the u.s.d.a. toured the drought impacted farms in ohio and indiana. it's a double problem for some. some have crop damage and were hit with structural damage from a powerful wind storm. the under secretary said he is confident agriculture will pull through this, but congress needs to take action to help. >> u.s.d.a.

we will do all we can to help farmers and ranchers outo. provisions in -- last december 30th. we are asking for congress, to do a farm bill as quickly as possible. >> in ohio about a quarter of the corn crop is good to excellent. act a third is poor to very poor. >> with the poor outlook on crop food prices making headlines. with record corn prices and tighter beef supplies, economists expect food prices to spike higher. u.s.d.a. said while it's true consumers shouldn't feel the hit to their pocket immediately. >> if enyou look at the futures contract; all the nearby contracts for live cattle, lean hogs are all down. if you go out -- they are up and i think that -- tells you a little bit about how this filters in to the food

situation. the prices -- we won't see the impacts immediately through the livestock specter but they will come -- see the inflationary pressures in 2013. >> the agriculture secretary said this week that if consumers see any immediate increase that is from price gouging and not the drought. meanwhile the debate of food verses fuel is heating back up. they said the renewable -- haven't provided relief for consumers. it's time to revisit the standard. while rumors have been circulate that think will temporarily cut mandate the epa director said this isn't true. he said epa hasn't received a former waiver petition. the president said that now isn't the time for changes to its standard. he said the renewable fuel standard is working redoing rural america. that's it for news. we will head now and check the

weather. >> okay. let's all take a deep breathe and go to mike hoffman for the forecast. >> . >> the heat just continues for the plain states, that's because the ridge continues to poke its way northward and the eastern rockies, bit of a trough and the trough in the eastern great lakes into the new england . none of this real cool air but at least we are talking cooler than the heat south of the jet stream. a lot of the moisture, a lot of the areas of green as we start the weekend, through the week. the southeast. the hit and miss afternoon variety thunderstorms, these are hit and miss monsoonal storms in the southwest, again a lot of areas don't get hit in that situation. there will be frontal systems west to east through the northern tier of states, that means at least a chance for a shower or thunderstorm from time to time. ripple there biting through the ridge as we head through the

middle of the week and this should be a good trough but the great lakes and in the meantime it's going to cause scattered showers and thunderstorms with the front. again the hit and miss variety farther to the soup. by friday that trough starts to dig into the great lakes and may dig in more as we head into next weekend which would push that better chance for showers along the front. farther to the south. deeper into the drought areas, scattered showers and thunderstorms, central plains into the ohio and tennessee river valley. in to the muggy air and the southeast and also the southwest not muggy but hot. we are looking at just the afternoon thunderstorms, now taking a look at temperatures next week this would wake us in to the first four days of august, above normal for the -- into south dakota, back into wyoming and southward into texas. i know you don't want to see that. here is where we start to eat

it away. the northeast and the eastern great lakes, the pacific northwest. below normal pretip saying, i'm expecting for the central part of the country. above normal -- from the southwest including the four corner area, the northern parts into parts of the northeast. 30 day outlook, from the lower great lakes all the way to texas and back into much of the west, going back to normal. below more new england and then the 30 day outlook for precipitation, again john we are eating it away here but below normal still i think for the central plains, into the ohio river valley. we almost need to start just kind of take that southward little by little to work for next year. >> we are starting to create a huge deficit and will have to take it day by day and hope for something this winter. >> that's true. >> spirit of the heart land is next. .

>> you're watching united states farm report.

a theme park i . a theme park in southern california isn't big on thrill rides but it is big on healthy eating. the former marine air corp. station is now the orange county gray park. it is returning back to its roots. tracy has the details in this report from the california farm burear. >> the park is being built on a decommissioned marine base. farming returning to the land after a 70 year absence. before becoming home to the marines this area in orange was

once a thriving farm area and home to one of the largest lima bean area fields in america. >> when we started the process of building the mark the heritage of the park was important and this having been an agriculture area we are focused on that. it really is the kind of space that invites all kinds of activity and here in orange which is an urban county for people to be able to get out in the fresh air, to be able to work with nature, that's a great thing. in addition to typical park attractions for the young and old to enjoy, the park also has a food truck alley and has earmarked 114 acres of farmland for the future. some have gotten a head start and it's started leasing land right now. one is growing everything from strawberries to car rots to

lima beans and is he providing his produce at the weekly farm he's market which is also a feature attraction at the park. >> we are getting -- once we can get that kind of excitement. that can be a good part of how the market plays out. >> while organizers respect the agriculture legacy of the past they are keen on watching the future as well. in the farm and food lab master gardeners are teaching people how they can grow their own food. they can have fruits, flowers, vegetables and herbs. a pizza and spagh. >>announcer: tti garden shows how ingrown eastbounds and toppings look november before they are made into salads. >> garden there is great teaching, you know -- we teach the kids with the seed in the

right location, taken care of, they can produce a yield of fruits. >> it's something that people can get excited about and that's what we want here people to be excited about food. >> myself i see it as the heart and soul of orange and a lot of others do too. >> school i had friends there. to learn more go to the website. we will have a link on our home page as well. its been desert like dry in parts of texas but did you need a camel? we will head to the lone star state. up next country kids teach city kids about the role of bio tech in modern agriculture. and we will tagalong as the string of tractor fans go through south dakota. a special tractor tales.

for most kids, summertime means a break from school. days spent playing outdoo d soaking up the sun. . movement summer means a break but a group of high schoolers trades their day to teach science and feeding the world. kent has more on students teaching students about bio technology. in this report provided by the university of missouri. >> gum drops don't scream science but for a group of high schoolers candy is a powerful teaching tool. brenda is teaching students how to build dna models, using these treats but she isn't your

average teacher tew by teen teaching other teens about bio technology. >> we want urban youth trailed it's not going to the store and getting what you get. there is a big process behind the materials and the food that we get. on a daily basis. >> reporter: in this workshop called bio tech to feed the world students learn how advances in science can be used to reduce world hunger. the extension youth development specialist said they will take what they learned create science lessons for 4h clubs in their home town town. >> the coolest thing is watching our youth grow, watching confidence grow, watching them educate each other and learn from each other, to me that's really cool. >> stats show that the youth are 70% more likely to go onto college. >> most people in the united states don't understand that it

other people in -- and other countries worry about how they are going to eat every day. we are trying to help inform people in how we are trying to help them grow more food and so they can eat like we can. >> 4h programs like bio tech to feed the world will get today's youth hooked on science and they may be the next generation of sciencists and engineer. from the university of missouri. thank you kent. up next a special edition of tractor tales takes us to south dakota and our country church will focus on virginia.

al pell rejoins us - we have a special tractor tales

. al joins us for a special tractor tales, i noticed these guys aren't in air conditioned cabs. >> you're correct. the tri state association teamed up with farm radio station wnax in south dakota for their yearly ride nearly 200 tractors and tractor lovers from all over the country took part. regional reporter has the story. >> tractors took part in this year's tractor ride. >> we had about every color you could think of, ford, john deere, international, international is always dominant. >> regardless of the brand there is a certain pride associated with a tractor that's been in the family for years. >> this tractor was bought by my dad in 1966 and it's never left the farm. >> there may be no byter way to tour the countryside than behind the wheel of your favorite tractor. >> you can drive by something every day in your truck, when you come on the tractor, i will

be darned, i can't believe that -- i missed that. >> participants in the ride to a full day in is thed northeast nebraska. >> we look at different routes every year and we try to go to a town where we haven't been if we can work it out to run about 70, 75-miles a day. >> as the name would suggest most of the participants in the tractor ride are from iowa, is thed nebraska but people who have come from as far as missouri, oklahoma and even new york. in fact this is jim and brenda's 4th year participating in the ride. >> something different to do. we -- enjoy meeting all the people in a good way to see the beautiful state. >> they like the wide open spaces verses the narrow roads in new york which make tractor rides there rare. >> sometimes you -- there is one this theys they can go through you or something. it's very difficult, here it's farming is king. >> that's why they are already

planning the 1200-mile trip to participate next year. in south dakota,. >> and from our facebook page. we received a photograph from josh of ohio. his grandfather and great grandfather bought this john deere a in the 50s. they used on the farm until the 80s. thank you josh for sharing a picture of your favorite tractor on our facebook page. today's country church salute goes to all saints chapel in tony point virginia. built in 1929, it was one of several mission chapels built to serve the rural population. this is the only one left standing. it's outside is covered rough boards, church members say the boards are painted white as a sign of purity. the chapel has been renovated by the church which numbers about 20 people. congratulations to all saints chapel in tony point virginia. we want to learn about your home church as well.

salutes can be sent to the address on the screen. stay with us. the mailbag is next.

time now for our weekly look inside the farm report mailbag.... i think i managed to confuse more than inform about . >> i think managed to confuse more than inform about the financial scandal last week. you talked about libore that loans money on farms, which bank or bank is it? this is from sharon.

libor is short for london enter bank offer rate. it is a bench mark lie the prime rate here that's used to measure what the market rate for money is. it's not a bank. it's numbers worked out by banks, the bankers weren't giving honest appraisals but fudging the numbers, mostly down. while this meant that while borrowers got lower rates savers were cheated. the bottom line is this may be impossible to stop. it does put blood in the water. some think that the outcome from lawsuits by angry investors could dwarf the

tobacco settlement. to many have been forced to put off retirement or tighten their belts due to lower returns. from the information already released, it is clear this shady practice was noun and widely tolerated even by those who did nothing wrong. this is the mark of a morally banks interrupt profession. we want to hear from you. send comments to mailbag or leave us a voicemail. for all of us, thank you for watching united states farm report. be sure to join us again next week. we will work to doen beeter.