Drought in Midwest leaves many farmers praying for rain

Published: 2005-07-27

KNOX, Ind. (CNS) -- Mike and Katie Yankauskas have owned their farm for 27 years. They raise pigs, and since 2000 they have operated a meat shop. They also raise feed corn, beans and some wheat. The Yankauskases, like other farmers in the region, need more rain. The rain helps the corn grow, and that provides food for the pigs. "There's no other occupation where you have to rely on what God is going to give you," said Mike Yankauskas, who with his wife is an active member of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in rural Knox. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, unusually dry conditions in June stretched from Texas to the Midwest and Northeast. June marked the fourth consecutive drier than normal month for parts of the southern Plains and Midwest, with large areas of worsening drought from eastern Texas to northern Illinois and Indiana.

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