Field corn plants with wilted and dying leaves, plants which would normally stand over 6-feet tall at this point in the growing season, stand in a dry field in Idaville, Indiana, U.S., on Friday, July 6, 2012. Corn prices jumped to a nine-month high of $7.13 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade yesterday and have surged more than 37 percent since June 15 as a crop-damaging drought in the U.S. Midwest shows no signs of abating. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
The cut off stalks of corn plants in a field cleared after drought conditions and extreme heat during pollination irreversibly damaged the crop in Carmi, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, July 11, 2012. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg