More than half of Indiana ruled in extreme drought - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

More than half of Indiana is now listed in extreme drought in a swath of the state's midsection that goes its entire length.

The new U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday says almost 54 percent of Indiana is in extreme drought, a situation that experts say will take weeks of regular rainfall to relieve.

The new report nearly doubles from last week the percentage of the state listed in extreme drought.

The report labels more than 99 percent of the state as being in at least moderate drought. The only exception is a small area just north of Louisville, Ky.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared a natural disaster for 80 of Indiana's 92 counties because of the drought"s damage to crops.

Indiana is not alone. The widespread drought in the United States is the worst since 1956. Fifty-five percent of the country is in a moderate to extreme drought.

In South Dakota, the hot, dry weather is taking a toll on corn and soybean crops.

"To fall short of a corn crop right now after a tight crop that we've carried over from last year is near devastating," said Matt Swenson, commodities expert.

"We wait every week and watch the weather and hope that the rains come through," said Jeff Kaufman, farmer.

If rain doesn't fall soon, cattle ranchers in North Dakota say get ready for a price change when it comes to beef. The lack of rain has led to short pasture, making it hard for ranchers to provide cows with the proper nutrition and enough water.

"We need some substantial rain here in a short period of time or things are going to get more critical than they are already," said Mike Hilde, cattle rancher.

The lack of rain is also dropping river levels. In Iowa, south of the quad cities, cargo barges are hitting the bottom of the river and getting stuck, forcing some to lighten their loads. A lighter cargo means less money per trip.

In Minnesota, drought conditions are proving disastrous for tubing businesses on the Otter Tail River. The river is about 75-percent lower than normal. KNK Tubing could be forced to close this week a loss of about $600 a day.

"We generally have three months out of the summer to tube the river and our income's going to cut us in half because we got a month and a half this year," said Roger Klemm, tubing company owner.

The National Climatic Data Center says June 2012 was the third driest month in 118 years.