State media ran a report this month insisting that rice crops will be fine overall. But it also acknowledged that more than 494,000 acres of rice paddies have been affected in Hubei alone, citing the Ministry of Agriculture.

Xinhua quoted specialists saying the dam had "very little" impact on regional climate conditions and that there is "no evidence that the drought was caused by the dam."

Others disagree. Fan Xiao, a senior engineer with a provincial geological survey team in the area, said that in addition to the lack of rain, the drought conditions are "related to the Three Gorges Dam."

Chinese officials pushed for water levels to hit a height of 574 feet at the dam in 2008 and 2009 - seeking maximum power generation capacity - and finally succeeded last October. That campaign, Fan said, came "at the cost of the downstream water supply."

And

With reports of shipping barges having trouble navigating some spots of the Yangtze, and bone-dry rice fields in a nation already
concerned about food prices, Chinese leaders decided to release more water from the reservoir.

Although hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of water are leaving the dam every second, the scenes in Hubei suggest the government's challenges are far from over.

Eoin Treacy's view Controversy has surrounded the Three Gorges Dam since its inception and this is unlikely to change. Focusing on power generation rather than farming has almost certainly had a knock-on effect for water levels downriver but is only a symptom of the wider problem of not enough rain. Inclement weather conditions globally have been a tailwind for agriculture prices; particularly against the background of historically low inventories, increased demand from the emerging middle class and biofuels as well as speculation.

Rough rice futures have been a notable laggard in the sector and continue to range mostly below $15. A sustained move above that level would be required to indicate a supply deficit for the commodity.

Soybeans have been ranging in a relatively steady reversion towards the 200-day MA for much of the year and found support near the trend mean 3 weeks ago. A sustained move below 1300¢ would be required to begin to question medium-term upside potential.

Corn retested the 2008 peak in April before pulling back quite sharply. However it held the progression of higher reaction lows, above the 200-day MA and has since rallied back towards the peak. A sustained move below 650¢ would be required to question the consistency of the medium-term uptrend.