DOVER, Del. (AP) — The governors of Delaware and Maryland are joining an effort to persuade federal officials to ease renewable fuel standards because of a severe drought that has led to a drop in corn supplies and a corresponding increase in corn prices.

Govs. Jack Markell of Delaware and Martin O’Malley of Maryland sent a letter Thursday to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency asking the agency to relax rules requiring that a percentage of the corn crop go to making ethanol.

Similar pleas have been made by the two states’ congressional delegations.

The governors warned that if the fuel standards are not waived, high corn prices could have a devastating effect on the Delmarva peninsula’s poultry industry and the local economy, with the potential of thousands of job losses.

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