More than half of U.S. counties have been designated as natural disaster areas after the worst drought in more than 50 years ravaged crops and pastures this summer. As of Aug. 28, 2012, nearly 53 percent of the country was still in moderate drought or worse, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, released weekly by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Manufacturers and distributors serving these markets will or already have seen an impact as the drought continues to dampen economic activity.

The impacts have been widespread, from cracking …