Nashville, IL (KSDK) - These hot, dry temperatures are making drought conditions almost unbearable for farmers. Corn, soy bean and alfalfa crops are struggling to survive and that could mean bad news at the grocery store.
Southern Illinois farmer David Ibendahl has about 500 acres of corn. His farm hasn't seen a good rain since April and he expects this year's harvest to be less than a tenth its usual size.
Corn like Ibendahl's is used as feed for livestock and when there's a shortage, it creates a domino effect that can hit us all in the wallet.
"It creates more of a problem when raising livestock," said Ibendahl. "That can cause beef prices to go up. It can cause products at the store to go up. It has a long range effect on commodities that do that."
Ibendahl says if we don't get some serious rain soon, we could see those price increases by this fall.