Many US Farmers Struggle With Hot, Dry Weather (1/2)

Heat and drought are threatening some of America's most productive farmland. The Department of Agriculture says an early summer heat wave across the West has increased demand for water to save dry crops. But in many areas, water supplies are limited. Water is also needed to fight wildfires in western states like California, Nevada and Washington.

Temperatures have reached about 38 degrees Celsius recently in parts of Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. The Agriculture Department says temperatures averaged several degrees above normal. Some people in the West say they cannot remember a time with less rain in half a century. But drought conditions have been most severe in the South.

The northern part of Alabama is described as the driest in about 100 years. With grasslands damaged, many farmers in Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee have no hay to feed their cows. So they have sold up to half of their cattle early.

In southern Alabama and northern Tennessee, farmers also suffered through a dry period last year. Some were hoping for a big corn crop this year to sell for ethanol fuel. But the government says most of their crop is in poor or very poor condition.