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Drought dries up stretch of Platte River, slows barges on lower Mississippi
Posted by NBC News: Miguel Llanos on August 3rd, 2012
NBC News: It's not just on land where drought is taking a toll: a 100-mile stretch of the Platte River has dried up, while barges along the lower Mississippi are having to carry less cargo in order to navigate shallower water.
The Mississippi impact is one that goes far beyond the immediate area: About 60 percent of the nation's grain, 22 percent of its oil and gas, and 20 percent of the nation's coal goes down the river. Lighter barges mean longer waits for those products.
The Army Corps of Engineers...
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Half of all US counties deemed ‘natural disaster areas’
Posted by NBC News: Miguel Llanos on August 1st, 2012
NBC News: Just over half of the counties in the U.S. are now labeled "natural disaster areas" after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday added 218 counties in 12 states to the list.
With drought drying up food crops and animal feedstock, the USDA also said it was allowing haying and grazing on 3.8 million protected acres, many of them wetlands, and that insurance companies agreed to a 30-day grace period for farmers on insurance premiums.
"The assistance announced today will help U.S. livestock...