US says drought will hike cost of food slightly

The losses of crops and livestock due to the intense heat and drought in some areas of the nation are expected to raise retail food prices by about 0.1 percent this year, Howard Hjort, the Agriculture Department's chief economist said. Damage estimates were put at $447 million in South Dakota and at $350 million in Montana. In Georgia, crop losses were put at $448 million, livestock losses at $3.7 million, and poultry losses at $7.3 million.