U.S. farmers seen weathering 2012 drought better than in 1988

U.S. crops are taking a beating in the worst drought since 1988 but most farmers are not sweating like they did 24 years ago when a drought hit as they were just starting to recover from a farm depression that brought down a big slice of the Midwestern economy. While financial losses from the 2012 drought in the world’s largest food exporting nation will no doubt top the $40 billion of losses in 1988 -- an inflation-adjusted $78 billion today -- U.S. farmers face this drought in their strongest financial position in history, buoyed by less debt, record-high grain and land prices, plus greater production and exports, according to agriculture bankers, farm managers and economists.