Dry grass and gray corn that should be green, it's a sign of the deadly conditions for crops only two weeks into summer.
"We got areas out in the field that are completely burned up, they won't even produce an ear," Rick Livesay says of his corn crop this year. "I'm projecting we're at about a 50 percent loss," he says.
Rick Livesay tells us about ten percent of his crop is a total loss already, and the crop that's left is at least two feet shorter than it should be.
"You can just see the stress on the corn crop, it's got a silver look and some of it's turning a grayish look, it's starting to fire from the bottom up and that's indication that the crop is dying," Livesay says, "There's spots out in the field that are done, it's over."
He says this is easily the worst it's been since damaging droughts in the late 80s.
"We have an input of around $600-800 an acre invested in a corn crop, and there's spots in the field that will produce zero; it's going to be an insurance game, it's going to be a tough year," Livesay says.
Though insurance may help cover some of Livesay's expenses, he's still at least 100 bushels short per acre.
And he's not the only one. Farmers all over the Midwest, especially Illinois, are losing crops. This could affect you on your next trip to the grocery store. At this rate, Livesay says markets are projecting corn prices will reach record highs at almost nine dollars a bushel by fall.
"It could go up another $1.50 to $2 more in price before it's all over with," he says.
With not even half an inch of rain on the way in the near future, it's not looking good for any crop dependent on rain.
"Waiting to see, there's rain in the forecast, hopefully that will brighten the spirits up a little bit, but it's looking pretty dismal right now," Livesay says.
