Drought conditions causing economic hardships

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis says biggest impact will be on agriculture.

MINNEAPOLIS (KVRR) — A lack of rain is more than hurting farmers’ and ranchers’ bottom lines.

Officials from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis are releasing their findings saying the biggest impact of the drought will be on agriculture.

Some of those impacts could mean the cost of goods going up as supplies for wheat, small grains and livestock may be harder to come by.

“It looks like the impact is going to be harsher on our livestock and our dairy producers than it is on our crop producers, but it’s going to be harder on some crop producers than others, just given where they are in terms of the production cycle,” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Regional Economist  Joe Mahon said.

As for the overall impact, Mahon says it’s too early to tell how large that effect will be.