Drought conditions ease in key Midwest farm states; food prices - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Recent storms have eased drought conditions in several key Midwest farming states where the corn harvest is wrapping up.

The U.S. Drought Monitor's weekly update released Thursday shows that 62.4 percent the lower 48 states remained mired in some form of drought during a seven-day period ending Tuesday. That's down more than a percentage point from the previous week and a welcome sign for farmers enduring the nation's worst drought in decades.

 Thursday's update shows that 63.9 percent of Iowa, the nation's biggest corn producer, is still in extreme or exceptional drought, which are the worst two classifications. That's down nearly 12 percentage points from a week earlier.

Those two categories fell in Kansas from 95.7 percent last week to 77.8 percent now.

The drought is driving up prices for a lot of different types of food. Restaurant costs are already up more than ten percent and industry experts say the worst is yet to come.

Restaurants are doing everything they can think of to keep customers coming in. That includes revamping menus, selectively raising prices on items, smaller portion sizes or downsizing their staff well into the new year.

Analysts expect overall food prices to rise by as much as 20 percent by the end of the year.