Photo: Australia's Long Drought Withering Wheat, Rice Supplies

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A field of barley lies dying in Parkes, Australia, on October 25, 2006—at the height of the continent's "worst drought in a thousand years."

The failure of wheat and rice crops in Australia is contributing to the recent massive runup in grain prices worldwide and underscores the increasing vulnerability of global food production to unexpected natural crises.

Read more of our special series on the global food crisis.

Photograph by Ian Waldie/Getty Images

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