Ohio's farmers had every reason to be happy during the spring months ... unseasonably warm temperatures, little rain and crops planted on time if not early.

Despite Thursday's downpour, thoughts of a near-perfect growing season have dried up, along with the soil as most of the state is in a drought.  According to the Ohio Farm Bureau, the lack of rain is literally killing the crops.  We're not talking about sweet corn, tomatoes or cucumbers, although those plants need water, too.  We're talking about feed corn, soybeans, wheat and hay. 

"What we're looking at now is a matter of how much yield loss farmers are going to face," said OFB Communications Director Joe Cornely.  "There's very little doubt that we're cutting into yield.  It's just a question of how much."

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Cornely says those jeopardized crops may not seem important to the consumer - this isn't the stuff you buy at a roadside stand.  There are two reasons, according to Cornely that we should all care about these crops.  Much of the yield is used to feed livestock and make other foods.

"You may not recognize it, but there's a derivative of corn, soybeans or wheat in almost everything we eat either directly or indirectly as a livestock feed," said Cornely.

He says as much as 50 of the yield has already died in some fields.