The drought that took the wheat

Yu Ruicheng's weathered face creases with worry as she stands on her dry wheat field in eastern China, where a record drought is threatening to send soaring global food prices even higher."If it doesn't rain next month, we won't harvest anything," the 62-year-old farmer says, crouching down and sifting parched soil through her fingers, pointing to dried-up wheat shoots scattered across her plot of land.

Russia's worst drought in recorded history has sent wheat prices surging, providing some relief to Canadian farmers who have been dealing with weather issues of their own

Prices of corn, soybeans and wheat are likely to decline this year, according to the latest forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Although farmers are going into this season with the ground still extremely dry after last year’s record-breaking drought, the USDA still expects good yields this year. Weather, like the winter storm which blew through the southern Great Plains this week bringing relief from the drought conditions which have lingered since summer, will be a ...

Marc Chandler submits:In a time when there is much discussion of peak oil and the idea that other commodities are less abundant or more costly to access, one issue that might not get enough attention among investors is the shortage of water. Some political scientists, for example, have suggested that the next war in the Middle East may be over water, not oil. Grain is very water-intensive. Roughly speaking, it takes 1,000 tons (100 cubic meters) to grow a ton of grain.

By James Roemer: (click to enlarge) Source: MRRCC Midwest Drought Information Center

Melissa Block speaks with Chris Hurt, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, about the global rise in wheat prices. Wheat prices held just below a two-year high Friday.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

By Paulo Santos:Along with corn (CORN), wheat (WEAT) has been on a tear. One might think that the hot, dry June weather was to blame, that the wheat was wilting in the fields. But there's just one problem ...