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Amber Waves of Grain...
"The depression wouldn't have affected most of the country, if it wouldn't have been for the drought" -- Lillian Boettcher Leistikow, my grams.
In many ways this is a continuation of my post Ripples that I posted back in Feb. Just FYI
This year US farmers planted the largest corn crop ever. This increase in acreage was driven (heh) by the government's focus on ethanol as an alternative fuel source. Corn prices have been steadily rising for the last year, giving some farmers an almost livable wage. With the increase in corn acreage, there has been a corresponding drop in the acreage of other crops, most notably soybean (down 15%) and cotton (down a whopping 28%).
Now go and check out this. It's an animated US map that shows the drought conditions for the last 12 weeks. The long range forecast doesn't hold out much hope for a change in that dry pattern. For the non-farmers that means the just when rain is needed the most -- to produce kernels of corn on the cobs, beans in the soybean pods and cotton on the cotton plants -- there is none. Drive by the corn fields and the corn may stand seven feet tall, but the ears are small and the kernels stunted.
I'm not sure if the US actually does "feed the world", but it does provide a large enough supply that its crop yield dominates the world market. Already there has been concern from other countries about the spike in prices for basic corn-based food products. With the decrease in soybean and cotton production, you can expect a corresponding increase in prices for all soy and cotton based products.
What does it all mean? Hell if I know. As I said in my Ripples post, the US ag industry may be incredible enough to withstand these fluctuations of supply and demand without severely inconveniencing the population at large.
Mostly, I'm fascinated by the effect that the US ag industry has on our increasingly urban society -- a society that in many ways devalues, ignores and belittles the rural community. You know, science and technology may come up with an alternative to fossil fuels, it may (possibly) be able to do so without using an agricultural based alternative. But as long as people have to eat, the ag industry will remain the basis of life.
In many ways this is a continuation of my post Ripples that I posted back in Feb. Just FYI
This year US farmers planted the largest corn crop ever. This increase in acreage was driven (heh) by the government's focus on ethanol as an alternative fuel source. Corn prices have been steadily rising for the last year, giving some farmers an almost livable wage. With the increase in corn acreage, there has been a corresponding drop in the acreage of other crops, most notably soybean (down 15%) and cotton (down a whopping 28%).
Now go and check out this. It's an animated US map that shows the drought conditions for the last 12 weeks. The long range forecast doesn't hold out much hope for a change in that dry pattern. For the non-farmers that means the just when rain is needed the most -- to produce kernels of corn on the cobs, beans in the soybean pods and cotton on the cotton plants -- there is none. Drive by the corn fields and the corn may stand seven feet tall, but the ears are small and the kernels stunted.
I'm not sure if the US actually does "feed the world", but it does provide a large enough supply that its crop yield dominates the world market. Already there has been concern from other countries about the spike in prices for basic corn-based food products. With the decrease in soybean and cotton production, you can expect a corresponding increase in prices for all soy and cotton based products.
What does it all mean? Hell if I know. As I said in my Ripples post, the US ag industry may be incredible enough to withstand these fluctuations of supply and demand without severely inconveniencing the population at large.
Mostly, I'm fascinated by the effect that the US ag industry has on our increasingly urban society -- a society that in many ways devalues, ignores and belittles the rural community. You know, science and technology may come up with an alternative to fossil fuels, it may (possibly) be able to do so without using an agricultural based alternative. But as long as people have to eat, the ag industry will remain the basis of life.
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