One third of the Midwest is currently experiencing conditions of extreme drought. How is this affect farmers, food prices, and you?

According to newly released figures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than 15,000 weather records were set in the United States last month. John Harold, a farmer in Olathe, Colorado, says it's been hard not to notice the strange weather fluctuations. Andrew Revkin, who writes the "Dot Earth" blog for The New York Times Op-Ed section, says this year's records are an indication of what to expect in the future.

Though nearly one out of every 11 people across the country is out of work, on industry is facing a labor shortage. Some farmers in the western U.S. who have traditionally relied on migrant workers are now offering the same jobs to Americans — $10 an hour for pulling in the fall harvest. John Harold is one of those farmers. Instead of hiring migrant workers this year, he left openings for local, jobless Americans, something he considers a mistake. Americans, he says, proved to be less reliable and less willing to perform the hard work necessary to run his corn and onion farm than foreign workers.