A cow looks for something to eat as it grazes in a dry pasture southwest of Hays, Kan., in a July 6, 2012 photo.

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In this Monday, July 16, 2012 photo, a field of corn that has missed pollination due to high temperatures and little rain stands in Geff., Ill. The field is considered a total loss by the farmer.

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Stunted corn in a field, foreground, overlooks healthier fields of corn, rear left, and soy beans, rear right, in rural Springfield, Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading, with more than half of the continental United States now in some stage of drought and most of the rest enduring abnormally dry conditions.

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One stunted plant remains in a row of corn in rural Springfield, Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012.

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Stunted corn grows in dry cracked soil in rural Springfield, Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, July 17, 2012.

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David White, 53, a farmer since he was 13, looks over his drought-stricken corn crop in Geff, Ill on Monday, July 16, 2012. White says he has never experienced such extreme drought. Little rain and long lasting heat has dried up his acres forcing him to declare this year a "total loss."

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Stalled corn is displayed on a farm in Geff, Ill on Monday, July 16, 2012. 53-year-old farmer David White says he has never experienced such extreme drought. Little rain and long lasting heat has dried up his acres forcing him to declare this year a "total loss."

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In this Monday, July 16, 2012 photo, a farmer peels back the husk from an ear of corn damaged by weeks of extreme temperatures in Geff., Ill. In southern Illinois many farmers are filing a total loss for 2012 and hoping they survive until the next growing season.

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Cattle wait in pens before an auction sale in Conway, Ark., Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Many ranchers are selling their livestock during drought conditions rather than pay high prices for hay.

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A pontoon is anchored on a mud flat as the owner could not reach their dock at Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Ind., Monday, July 16, 2012. The reservoir is down nearly 6 feet from normal levels and being lowered 1 foot every five days to provide water for Indianapolis.

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Boats sit on the bottom in a dry cove at Morse Reservoir in Noblesville, Ind., Monday, July 16, 2012. The reservoir is down nearly 6 feet from normal levels and being lowered 1 foot every five days to provide water for Indianapolis.

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The sun rises Sunday, July 15, 2012, in Pleasant Plains, Ill. Corn stalks are struggling in the heat and continuing drought that has overcome most of the country.

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Corn stalks struggling from lack of rain and a heat wave covering most of the country lie flat on the ground Monday, July 16, 2012, in Farmingdale, Ill. The nation's widest drought in decades is spreading. More than half of the continental U.S. is now in some stage of drought, and most of the rest is abnormally dry.

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