Scattered rain fell in parts of the Midwest on Friday, but it was not enough to provide relief to farmers struggling to salvage crops scorched by worsening drought conditions and ranchers worried about feeding livestock.

More than 1,000 counties in 26 states across the country were named natural-disaster areas on Thursday in a statement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was the single largest designation in the program’s history and the worst drought since 1988, government officials said.

michael sims @farmersims

Corn is starting to go brown!! What next? #drought12
13 Jul 12

Nearly 61 percent of the contiguous U.S. was listed in drought this week, up from 56 percent for the previous week, according to the National Weather Service’s Drought Monitor, a weekly government report.

The report found that nearly two-thirds of the states in the Midwest are facing drought conditions, up from 50 percent a week earlier, prompting deep concerns about the deteriorating crop conditions in the Corn Belt.

In Iowa, and 17 other important corn-growing states, the report said that ’30 percent of the crop is now in poor or very poor condition, up from 22 percent the previous week.