9 replies to this topic

[gofish]

http://www.msnbc.msn...new_york_times/

[Amishway Homesteaders]

NOT good news!
We are having a small drought here that is starting to have some farmers a bit worried.
I don't like (yes I do) to have to go out at 6 am and water the gardens every other day!

[arby]

I have been watching this drought situation. The Beef industry is also struggling, and I am sure other livestock meat is also suffering due to last year's affects of drought and fires, as hay is affected and they culled the herds and have not recovered, so this year with the heat, its ongoing, and might as well consider next year too..... Do what you can to gather your corn products and meats and preserve them as much as you can if you eat these foods, is my thinking on the matter.
It's already very expensive for me to buy meat and I only have myself to feed here. It will be worse before it gets better.

Early in the year in following the solar flare activity, I found out it has a lot to do with how we are affected weatherwise because it is affecting the Jet Stream / Gulf Stream over the continent here. It makes it do really tight zigzags, and also was affecting the hot cold mix of fronts we are getting that are so different than normal too.

The next couple of months are expected to be hot and drier than normal for the season.

It's sad whats happening, but we were warned about times like this in the Good Book.... so do what you can to help yourselves as much as you can.

This is not over by a long shot!

[themartianchick]

I tweeted this story today... It is hard to imagine how devastating something like this could be. Of course, we don't have to imagine it because it actually happend back in the 1930's.

[Jeepers]

There is a really good documentary on the dust bowl out there somewhere. I couldn't find it though. I think it was on either A&E or History Channel. One of those type of stations.

If you ever run across it, it's called Black Blizzard.



Edited to add link:

I found it on Youtube. It was the History Channel. It is in 9 parts but as soon as one part ends the next part starts. At least it does on the Youtube site. Not sure how it playes on the link below. Part 1 is missing but it is still good.

Edited by Jeepers, 05 July 2012 - 06:00 PM.

[winknasmile]

We've spent almost $40,000 putting in a corn crop on 100 acres. That does NOT include tractor gas, repairs, etc. It is simply for seed, fertilizer and herbicides. If we go another week w/o rain we'll lose some of our crop. If we go two weeks w/o rain our whole crop will be gone.

We have NEVER had a crop failure in this part of the state BUT this year looks alot different from the norm. Those that didn't borrow money to put in a crop will lose all they've spent because of not having insurance. The big guys that borrow boatloads of money have had to buy insurance to cover what they've borrowed.

Corn and soybean prices are going up like crazy and if this drought keeps up they'll do nothing but go higher. The price per bushel, just today, for corn jumpmed $.49 and soybeans were up $.54. $7.11 a bushel corn and $15.39 a bushel for beans is unbelievable.

If you need it, unless we start having monsoons in the midwest, you better be buying.

With no rain there is also no hay but you might wait on buying beef. If this keeps up beef producers will start liquidating (some already have) and you should see decent sales before long. I would think, although I don't know as much about pork, that with all the confinement buildings pigs are fed grain so with the prices I've quoted there may be hog producers liquidating too.

It's a rough time for so many right now, all over this country, so prepare what you can and breathe. We have got to keep as calm as we can and just take it a day at a time.

[gofish]

My farmer friend said the next two would be make or break for him.

[Cat]

My farmer friend said the next two would be make or break for him.

Do you mean the next two weeks? For the crop? Or is his whole farm at risk from one or two bad years?

Saw a report this morning of torrential rains in south Russia. This may be the big one for food shortages. I wonder how Brazil's food crops are looking.

[Violet]

So many people just don't get it !! They think food will always be plentiful. I keep telling my family, but they think I am nuts. They live this fancy lifestyle. Hmm, I would rather be able to eat.


Sorry to hear you may lose your crop. Pray for rain !!! I hope things work out well for you.

Think about all the millions of things they put corn syrup in. Plus, corn starch. Even modified food starch aka Clear Jel is corn based. Then , we have corn and soybean oil. I need to go buy more oil to store.

[gofish]

Ya I meant the next two weeks, as I was typing DD1 told me she had to be at work in 15 minutes. She is working 2 jobs now.
Good thing she is helping to pay for gas.

It's the corn crop he was talking about. He is not milking now but he still has heifers he is thinking about getting certified organic.
He got most of the hay that he needed done last month before it got so dry.

I'm thinking it was only a few years ago that he had to chop his corn for silage because it was dry. It's a LOT worse now.