Richard Mertens

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Christian Science Monitor

Midwest drought: how engineered corn saved some farmers from disaster

By Richard Mertens | 09/26/2012

Estimates suggest that drought-resistant corn might have diminished potential crop losses by one-quarter this year — a development with major implications for a hotter, more crowded world.

Christian Science Monitor

As drought withers US corn crop, ethanol industry feels the squeeze

By Richard Mertens | 08/10/2012

As corn prices soar amid deepening drought, ethanol plants watch their margins evaporate. The industry is working at half-capacity, and some plants have closed. The slowdown is a blow to some rural areas.