ST. LOUIS (AP) — While other corn growers already have knocked down their drought-ravaged crops to feed them to livestock, Nebraska farmer Doug Nelson still waits for his maize to mature, well aware it won't be a banner year.

On the day a new report suggested the nation's worst dry spell in at least a generation is deepening in America's breadbasket, Nelson said Thursday he expects to harvest anywhere from nothing to 43 bushels per acre on his unirrigated acreage, a far cry from the 120 to 140 bushels he'd typically get. On the irrigated land, he could see 150 to 200 bushels an acre; in previous years, Nelson would see a minimum of 180 bushels.

"For the most part, we haven't seen a hit like this since 1974, as far as my career goes," said the 61-year-old Nelson, who farms some 5,000 acres near Wayne. "But we'll have the combines going here in probably another month, and then we'll know for sure.