Federal weather forecasters predict the unusually hot dry weather that has gripped much of the nation will linger into fall, especially for the parched…

Crops are not the only things wilting in the sweltering summer of 2012; cattle, the largest animals, on the farm are also under stress.Some cattle…

The death of an 89-year-old St. Louis County man is blamed on the heat, bringing the number of heat-related deaths in Missouri to 24 since June.The victim…

Farmers suffering from this summer's dry, hot weather could get some help through the state treasurer's office.Treasurer Clint Zweifel says he is offering…

Updated with comments from McCaskill conference call. The entire state of Missouri is now a federal agriculture disaster area. Seventeen of the state's counties, mostly in the Bootheel, had already received that declaration. Today's announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture extends that declaration to the other 97 counties and the city of St. Louis. The declaration makes farmers and ranchers in the state eligible for low-interest emergency loans and other assistance from the USDA's Farm Service Agency. They're asked to keep track of their crop and livestock losses, as well as any additional costs they accrue battling the heat and drought. Gov. Jay Nixon spent Tuesday surveying the damage at farms in northern Missouri. The declaration gave Sen. Claire McCaskill an opportunity to blast the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives for sitting on the farm bill, which passed the Senate nearly a month ago. Two of McCaskill's potential opponents in November - former state treasurer Sarah Steelman and U.S. Rep. Todd Akin have both said they oppose the farm bill, mostly due to provisions dealing with food stamps. McCaskill said that position shows the two don't understand Missouri agriculture. Her third potential opponent, John Brunner, has not yet taken a position on the bill. A temporary extension is likely, McCaskill said, and it would provide financial support to corn, soybean and other commodities farmers in Missouri. But cattle ranchers would only be able to graze their livestock on land that's currently part of the federal conservation program. "Unfortunately, that land is just as burnt as the other land, as so there really isn't good grazing or haying opportunities," she said. Saline County farmer Stanton Thompson, who joined McCaskill on the call, says he's purchased crop insurance for decades, often with premium that's subsidized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The subsidy is part of the farm bill. "My friends and I are looking into the crop year 2013, and it's pretty scary in my opinion to be looking at the possibility of no insurance coverages, or at least those that are no longer subsidized," Lawrence said, "because the premiums will just be extraordinarily high and unaffordable as far as I'm concerned."

Missouri agriculture officials are using social media to share information about this summer's lack of rain, extreme heat and wildfires.The University of…

Regional news coverage from the KBIA newsroom, including:Farmers talk drought at MU field dayState House candidates face off in ColumbiaNixon vetoes…

Missouri is in the midst of the worst drought since 1988 – that was the buzz on the MU campus yesterday, as more than 200 farmers and researchers gathered…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is streamlining the process for farmers to apply for government disaster help as crops in many states burn up in the…

Gov. Jay Nixon has asked the federal government to declare 114 Missouri counties agriculture disaster areas because of drought conditions. Nixon's office says in a release that if the counties are designated as agriculture disasters, farmers in those counties would be able to receive assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency. The federal aid would also include emergency loans for losses to crops and livestock from the ongoing drought. A recent assessment from the Farm Service Agency found that the 114 Missouri counties met the disaster threshold. Drought conditions have been persisting across most of Missouri. High temperatures, low humidity and a lack of snow last fall and winter have contributed to the difficult conditions for Missouri farmers and ranchers. Follow St. Louis Public Radio on Twitter: @stlpublicradio