By Katie Ridgeway, KWMU
St. Louis – The drought sweeping the country continues to hurt Missouri and Illinois farmers.
Adam Nielsen with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, says that this growing season has been the driest since 1895. He says the corn crop has suffered the worst.
"The latest crop report put out by the Illinois Agricultural Statistics Service indicated that 56 percent of the state's corn crop was in poor or very poor condition."
State and Federal officials are responding to the drought with financial aid.
On Monday the state of Illinois started a $100 million emergency drought relief program, which will allow farmers to apply for low-interest loans.
Last week Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns declared all but one state eligible for low interest loans for disaster relief.