Currently in West Texas, we are in one of the worst droughts since the 1930's and 1950's. We are now entering the third year of this drought. Recently, I did some research on the drought of the 1930's and 1950's. In my hometown of Plainview, Texas (average annual rainfall = 20.17 inches), our rainfall for 2011 and 2012 was 5.63 and 10.48 inches respectively. In comparison, the two lowest years of precipitation during the 1930's was 10.16 and 13.75 inches in 1933-1934 and for the 1950's was 11.29 and 10.39 inches in 1953-54.

Conditions in the U.S., the biggest wheat exporter, are improving after snowstorms increased soil moisture following the worst drought since the 1930s Dust Bowl, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The latest NOAA drought outlook predicts that dry weather is expected to persist and even expand in parts of the central U.S., while some improvement is expected further east in the Corn Belt.

Harris-Mann Climatology's long-term forecaster, climatologist Cliff Harris, predicts a continuation of the major drought in the central U.S., which is likely to lead to even higher grain and soybean prices later this year.

It may be possible to minimize those losses if farmers can synchronize the growth of crops with periods of time when drought is less likely to occur.

Plants can adapt to extreme shifts in water availability, such as drought and flooding, but their ability to withstand these extreme patterns will be tested by future climate change, according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their cooperators.

Much of the country remains in extreme or exceptional drought and no one is sure how yields will turn out in 2013.

With farmland recently selling for more than $21,000 an acre in Iowa, saving $5.93 an acre may seem like a drop in the bucket. But paying attention to dollars and cents makes great sense to Cresco, Iowa strip-tiller Frank Moore, who's been farming for more than 35 years.

The combination of drought conditions, heavy irrigation, and widely varying yields means that soil testing is more important than ever this year.

Whether you lose the heart of your watermelon or the heart of your line-up on your ball team, your overall production will suffer, and that is what has happened to U.S. corn production as all of the major corn growing states suffered a reduction from their expected trend yield.