Posted: January 15, 2013 In 2012, farmers felt the brunt of
their own success as, after years of continually pushing the
boundaries of how much they could grow using fewer resources, a
massive drought hit the Corn Belt hard. Fields of young corn
plants, the beginning of what many anticipated to be a record
corn crop, withered in the relentlessly dry heat. Corn
production powerhouses, including Illinois, Iowa and Indiana,
found their crop would not meet initial projections. For their
inability to (literally) make it rain, these farmers faced
massive cries from media outlets’ sensationalized stories. Ever
vigilant in their quest for higher ratings, many journalists
eschewed responsible research in favor of “commonsense”
commentary, crying over and over that consumers would be shocked
when they saw their grocery bills come fall. From their self-
claimed moral high ground, media mercenaries lobbed a frenzied
attack. Will Americans starve to feed their cars? Should
draconian rationing measures be instituted? Were t