Today, I want to talk about something that most of you know already―it's hot outside.It's really hot.And if this feels worse than normal, that's because it is.We just found out that the month of July was the warmest month on record―warmer than any other month since we began keeping track more than a century ago.But the heat is just half the story.We're also suffering through one of the worst droughts in over 50 years.More than a fifth of this country is experiencing what we call “extreme” or “exceptional” drought with states like Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas getting hit harder than most.That's bad news for a lot of people, but it's especially tough on our farmers.Right now, half of the corn crop in America is in poor or very poor condition.Cattle farmers are struggling to feed their animals.Many folks are seeing their livelihoods dry up in front of their eyes.And if we don't get relief soon, Americans everywhere will start feeling the pinch, with higher prices on grocery store shelves all across the country.We can't let that happen.That's why, at my direction, the Department of Agriculture, led by Secretary Vilsack, has been working with other agencies across the federal government to make sure we're doing everything we can to help farmers and ranchers fight back and recover from this disaster.Already, we've given farmers across 32 states access to low-interest emergency loans.We've opened up more federal land for grazing.
今天,我想谈论的事情想必你们已经知道―它在外面已经被炒的沸沸扬扬。真的非常火爆。而且如果这个感觉比普通还要糟糕,这是因为它就是这样。我们刚刚发现7月是记录有史以来最热的月份―比超过一个世纪以前自从我们开始记录的其他任何月还要热上加热。但热只是这个故事的一半。我们也遭受着超过50年来最严重的干旱之一。这个国家超过五分之一的州正在经历我们所说的“极端”或“异常”干旱内布拉斯加州、堪萨斯州,密苏里州,俄克拉何马州和阿肯色州所承受的情况要更为糟糕。这对很多人而言是一则坏消息,而且尤其是对我们的农民来说异常艰难。现在, 美国一半的玉米作物正处于差或非常差的状况。养牛农民正在为了喂养他们的动物们而挣扎。许多人眼睁睁看到他们的生计干涸。如果我们不能很快得到救济,各地的美国人会开始感到压力,全国各地所有商店货架上的商品价格都会随着干旱而水涨船高。我们不能让这样的事情发生。这就是为什么,在我的指示下, 由维尔萨克领导农业部一直在与整个联邦政府的其他机构协作以确保我们会尽一切可能帮助农民和牧场主从这场灾难中反击并恢复。现在,我们已经给了32个州的农民低息应急贷款。我们也开放了更多用于放牧的联邦土地。
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