3 Agricultural Stocks Poised to Benefit from Drought

BOSTON (TheStreet) --The severe drought and heat conditions in the nation's heartland is devastating crops, which will result in higher food prices.

But the event is likely to be a long-term boon to companies developing drought-resistant seeds through the use of biotechnology.

The government recently reported the drought is the worst in more than 50 years, with about 56% of the continental U.S. suffering from a moderate to severe water shortage, which is part of a worldwide trend attributed in part to global warming. That's resulting in huge corn and soybean crop failures.

That means that demand for drought-resistant seeds and other such products should benefit a select few agricultural companies that have histories of applying technology to seed development.

The biggest players in the market are Monsanto(MON) , DuPont(DD) and Sygenta(SYT) .

These firms have applied biotechnological approaches to plant and fruit genetics, resulting in genetically modified seeds that make them resistant to pests and herbicides, which helps improve crop yields significantly.