Nick MiroffJuly 26, 2012 06:00

There are two breadbaskets in the Western Hemisphere, and while the one in North America withers, the one down south could be cashing in. Across northern Mexico and much of the Midwestern United States, the worst drought in 50 years has blitzed crops and decimated livestock. Futures for corn, wheat and soybeans are soaring to record highs on world markets as other key grain-producing regions also go dry this season. Latin America’s biggest beneficiaries are likely to be the big Southern Hemisphere farmers of Brazil and Argentina. But the region’s most vulnerable countries could be facing a new season of hunger, economists and food security experts warn.

Drought hits European grain production

Paul AmesJuly 26, 2012 06:00

IRSINA, Italy — Although conditions are far from nearing the dramatic situation in the US Midwest, the weather has dashed hopes that bumper yields in Europe would make up for shortages in America and arrest the growth of world grain prices.

In Depth Series: What America's drought means for the world

Kyle KimJuly 25, 2012 08:34

The United States is suffering its worst drought in 50 years. Yes, that's bad news for Americans. But what happens in the parched fields and prairies of the Midwest can affect people, prices and political stability worldwide. In this reporting series GlobalPost correspondents and editors investigate what America's drought means for the rest of our hungry and increasingly worried planet.

Calculating global hunger and food prices (DATA)

Kyle Kim, International Food Policy Research Institute and HarvestChoiceJuly 26, 2012 06:05

As heat waves and historic drought afflict crucial crop-producing regions in the US, farmers and consumers are bracing for a critically low harvest that will likely drive food prices sky-high. Data for the past decade show the alarming rise in cost of some of the world's most essential crops.

Jean MacKenzieJuly 20, 2012 16:32

2012 Elections: Fear and loathing in the heartland

Politics and nature pummel America’s midsection.

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Corn grows in a field August 17, 2011 near Willow Springs, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/AFP/Getty Images)

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Scorching heat and a searing drought have made this one of Iowa’s worst summers on record. The corn is barely knee-high is some places, and analysts are predicting f inancial disaster for the state if the trend does not break soon.

But stunted plants and hungry cattle are not Iowa’s main affliction in this long, hot season, say residents. Rather, it is the attack ads that run constantly on local media.

“We are being bombarded,” said Kathryn, a fifty-something professional woman who has lived in Iowa for decades. “You cannot turn on the TV without seeing them.”

Iowa is a “swing state.” Although recent polls in the state give President Barack Obama a slight lead over his challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the race is too close to call. That’s made this small agricultural state the focus of unusually intense political activity.

Obama visited Cedar Rapids just a week ago to drum up support for his proposal to extend tax cuts for the middle class; his visit to the home of Jason and Ali McLaughlin was widely publicized.

Romney made Iowa stops during his four-day “Every Town Counts” bus tour, drawing fire from protesters along the way.

Cruel season for some, windfall for others

Drought hits European grain production

In Depth Series: What America's drought means for the world

Calculating global hunger and food prices (DATA)

2012 Elections: Fear and loathing in the heartland

Cowpocalypse: Prepare for the largest-ever drop in livestock herds

Somalia famine grows, 12.5 million at risk

Somali refugees flee famine and war (PHOTOS)

Food arrives for Somali famine victims (PHOTOS)

East African drought uproots thousands