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A drought across much of the United States is forcing farmers to make difficult decisions. Damage to corn and soybeans is already severe in the hardest-hit areas. Alan Bowers Junior is a farmer in the state of Illinois in the Midwest. ALAN BOWERS JR.: "You get up in the morning, and you think it might be another thirteen months before we get a paycheck. The corn and soybean crop is our paycheck." The corn on his farm is so dry, the stalks break apart just by touching them. The maize is unusable. So in the middle of July, Alan Bowers decided to cut down his crop to avoid a total loss. ALAN BOWERS JR.: "We are making what they call corn silage out of this for the animals, for the cows. And if you wait till it's completely dried up, it won't even make suitable feed for the animals." Alan Bowers and his wife, Lori, are hoping for a small insurance settlement to help them pay their bills until next year. LORI BOWERS: "People don't realize we have no boss and we have nobody to help us. And it's tough. You have to work together. You have to work with a husband and a wife and family, and together try to work through it." The Bowers could also lose their soybeans to the record high temperatures and lack of rain in the worst drought in more than half a century. And Alan Bowers says if next year is anything like this, the farm itself may not survive. The farm has been in his family for four generations. | 
