DES MOINES, Iowa — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday slightly lowered its projection for the nation’s corn crop for a fourth straight month, reflecting worse-than-expected news about the actual impact of this year’s withering drought from the farmers ...

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ST. LOUIS — Carol DeVaughan assumed her suburban St. Louis home was simply settling when cracks appeared in the walls. When she noticed huge gaps between her fireplace and ceiling, and that her family room was starting to tilt, she ...

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NEW YORK — This summer, many small businesses that depend on high temperatures got more than they bargained for. Across the nation, July was the hottest month ever in the continental U.S., according to the government’s National Climatic Data Center. ...

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WASHINGTON — Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski says she is among a group of senators asking the Environmental Protection Agency to relax renewable fuel standards to require less corn. Mikulski says that will help ease corn supply shortages caused by drought ...

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MINNEAPOLIS — The record drought gripping half the country will help push food prices up by 3 percent to 4 percent next year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. Milk, eggs, beef, poultry and pork prices will all be ...

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DES MOINES, Iowa — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pushed Monday for Congress to act on a farm bill that would reinstate expired disaster assistance programs for farmers experiencing the worst drought in nearly seven decades. Programs authorized in the 2008 ...

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It is a challenging year for people who make a living tilling the soil, due to the earliest start to the growing season on record, and, in many places, continuing drought. Yet plenty of heat and sunshine also have made ...

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The Maryland Department of the Environment has issued a drought watch for western and central Maryland, joining most of the Eastern Shore. The drought watch announced Wednesday covers Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick, Carroll, Harford and Cecil counties, along with the ...

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ANNAPOLIS — The federal government has approved assistance for Maryland farmers who lost 30 percent of their crops or more due to drought this summer. Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration said Monday the assistance announced late last week includes Farm Service ...

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Maryland’s dry spell is bordering on a regional drought, and the rain in the forecast is unlikely to change that status. Some of the state’s driest regions were expected to see isolated showers Wednesday into Thursday, according to the National ...

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