This summer's crop of 14 startups includes GiveLoop, which makes software that facilitates online donations to charities and political groups.

FORBES: Entrepreneurs

Cheerful they aren't, if you listen to this summer's crop of horror-stories.

ECONOMIST: The price of flying on a low-cost airline

This summer its first crop of about 50 "fellows" will be placed at small businesses such as Drop the Chalk, an education-software firm in New Orleans, and Andera Inc.

WSJ: For Grads Seeking to Work and Do Good

Sugar cane, which is planted in the summer, is a water-intensive crop and farmers may shift to other crops temporarily, industry executives said.

WSJ: Drought to Hit Sugar Cane Output in Maharashtra

For another, sell-side bankers say screening activity has been strong all through the summer, suggesting that more PE deals will crop up in September and October.

FORBES: Connect

Third quarter is usually the seasonally weak month but crop nutrient prices remained firm during the summer months because of a tight global supply and strong restocking demand in the northern hemisphere.

FORBES: Pick Up This Fertilizer Maker While Shares Are Cheap

This was followed by hail, which depleted the crop, and a very wet end to the summer.

WSJ: Will Lyons on Wine: The Bitter Economics of Sweet Wines

Rain over the summer has meant a poorer quality of grass silage, and the farm's maize crop is also expected to produce lower yields when it is harvested in the coming weeks.

BBC: Richard Downes

Like the pork and beef industries, in the early spring of 2012, the chicken industry believed this summer would yield a bumper corn harvest, and so it upped production levels to utilize this large crop.

FORBES: Chicken