US farmers battle floods and heat in bid to replenish food supplies

Flooding in US croplands has taken on new significance, in light of the Ukraine war’s expected toll on grain production. Photo: TNS/Dreamstime

Global grain markets are at a pivot point, with prices finally starting to ease after a dizzying surge earlier this year. Where things go from here could end up being determined by farmers like Justin Sherlock and the extreme weather that’s hitting parts of the US crop belt.

For Sherlock, like most of America’s farmers, crazy weather isn’t anything new. His North Dakota farm gets so much excess water every spring that the area his farm is in has been dubbed the Prairie Potholes for the puddles that form in the middle of fields. But this year has been exceptional. The deluge was so intense, floodwaters submerged acre after acre.