When people think of droughts, they think of the short-term effects that play a role in the economy. However, many people don't think about the long-term effects that droughts can have on the economy. economy. Droughts are dangerous, they don't just affect one region or thing, but can disable or damage an entire food chain, which ultimately can cause serious problems for people all over the United States over an extended period of time. The focus of this article will be on the 2012 drought and how it affected American agriculture, including crops, livestock, and even food prices later. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, droughts arise from a lack of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more, resulting in a shortage of water for an environmental activity, group, or sector (NDMC, 2014) . However, droughts differ depending on the location and geography of the country. For example, living in California and having a dry summer would not be considered a drought because that is expected for that particular region. As we can see, droughts can be difficult to define or diagnose due to their location, as many factors play a role in determining whether it is a drought or not. Droughts will seep into an environment and people will not realize it. are in a drought until they find themselves right in the middle. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, droughts are caused immediately by the predominant downward motion of air (settling) that results in compressional warming or high pressure, which inhibits cloud formation and results in lower relative humidity. low and less precipitation (NDMC, 2014). Unfortunately, scientists cannot predict droughts at all times...... middle of article ......ReferencesBotelho, G. CNN US (2012). From dried up rivers to dead deer, the impact of the drought has been felt everywhere. Received from http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/us/drought-impact/Crutchfield, S. United States Department of Agriculture. (2013). Drought in the United States 2012: impacts on agriculture and food. Received from http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/in-the-news/us-drought-2012-farm-and-food-impacts.aspxNational Drought Mitigation Center. (2014). Predicting drought. Received from http://drought.unl.edu/DroughtBasics/PredictingDrought.aspxRayburn, E. West Virginia University Extension Service. (2005). Drought management before, during and after drought. Received from http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/forglvst/DroughtManagementBeforeandAfter.pdfSmith, A. CNN Money. (2012). Be prepared to pay more for your steak. Received from http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/30/pf/food-prices-drought/index.htm?iid=EL