By MIKE KRAFCIK
6 News Reporter
KNOXVILLE (WATE) – Drought has plagued much of the country this year, affecting the crops of many farmers, especially in the Midwest.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday one of the most affected crops in the country is corn. The drought could raise corn prices this fall to their highest prices ever at $8.90 a bushel.
During his weekly address, President Barack Obama pledged to aid farmers in their time of need.
The drought has affected farmers in East Tennessee who rely on corn.
Corn is the lifeblood of the River View Family Farm in West Knox County.
The farm uses the corn to feed Black Angus cattle, which are then shipped to frozen beef suppliers.
For River View Family farm co-owner Lafayette Williams, the price is going up by the minute.
"The corn you're seeing here we bought six weeks ago at $7.00 bushel," Williams said. "If I was to buy it tomorrow, it would be anywhere from $8.25 to $8.50 a bushel."
Williams is just one of countless numbers of farmers across the country and in East Tennessee who are paying more for corn because of the nationwide shortage.
"We are fairly sure it's going to continue to go up as the farmers in the corn belt begin harvesting their corn and find their yields are lower than normal," Williams said.
The price per bushel is expected to rise even further as the government on Friday slashed its estimate of corn yield to the lowest level since 1995.
"The corn is really hurting at a lot of places," said V.W. Lingfelter, co-owner of Deep Well Farm.
A recent stint of rain in East Tennessee has saved some crops and has even saved a corn maze in West Knox County.
The owners of Deepwell say their maze is expected to grow to a height of around 7 feet.
"We lucked out. We got a good stand of corn. It is not hardly as high as I'd like to be, but it's okay for a corn maze," Lingfelter said.
The higher prices of corn will trickle down to the average consumer.
The USDA expects the price of food to continue to rise, leaving farmers like Lafayette Williams no choice but to raise costs on their end.
"As a result of our input costs, we will go up on the beef, of course that will go up in your grocery stores nationwide" he said.
Both farmers said mostly the farmers who planted their corn crops early on were the ones who were more likely to have bad crops.
Lafayette Williams is paying more for corn because of the nationwide shortage.
"The corn is really hurting at a lot of places," said V.W. Lingfelter, co-owner of Deep Well Farm.
