Federal weather forecasters on Thursday said it appears the nation's drought is leveling off, meaning it's not getting worse. But it's still likely to continue at least through November.

We've heard a lot about how the drought will affect food prices for consumers. But how and when will that actually happen? Why might, for example, milk prices go up before meat prices?

More from the Associated Press:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center Forecasters previously had predicted the drought would linger through October. But the center said Thursday it appears the drought isn't getting worse.

Some areas in hard-hit farming states have seen rain in recent weeks.

And meteorologists say they expect conditions to improve in the Southwest and in a band sweeping from South Dakota through a section of Iowa and east to southern Indiana, as well as south to Texas.

Still, the fact that things aren't expected to get worse may be of little solace to Midwest farmers whose crops have already been damaged.

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