Not worried about our food supply? You should be. Here's why.

annarborgator · Post by **annarborgator** » Thu May 07, 2009 6:26 pm

Drought:

Businesses are casualties of the three-year drought that is forcing farmers to leave hundreds of thousands of acres fallow in the Central Valley, the semi-arid agricultural region running 400 miles (600 kilometers) down the middle of the state. The drought may cost the valley 35,000 jobs and $959 million in lost revenue this year, said Richard Howitt, chairman of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis.

“I’ve never seen a drought this bad,” said Bob Diedrich, who has been farming near Firebaugh, 140 miles southeast of San Francisco, since 1973. “It’s putting a chokehold on us.”

Diedrich laid off all five of his full-time workers in anticipation of receiving no water this year to irrigate the 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of land where he grows almonds and tomatoes. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in February cut off water deliveries to Central Valley farmers for the first time in 15 years because reservoir levels were low. The reservoirs collect rain and melted snowpack from the Sierra Nevada for transport to farm irrigation systems.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a8X3k8FhImlc

annarborgator · Post by **annarborgator** » Thu May 07, 2009 6:33 pm

A shortage of farm credit:

The economic crisis has also dried up sources of farm credit used to pay for agricultural inputs like fertilizer, seeds and fuel. Farmers around the world are already planting less this season in response to the absence of available financing.

http://news.therecord.com/Opinions/article/526455

annarborgator · Post by **annarborgator** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:27 am

Update....Texas A&M's crop report shows little to no improvement (and worsening in some areas) in the drought conditions in Texas...could impact the cost of beef, IMO...sounds like the crops (cotton, sorghum, watermelon, pecans, peanuts, wheat and most of the corn) are holding up decently for now because they're irrigating the hell out of'em...selected quotes from throughout the state:

"...Ranchers were liquidating herds due to lack of forage...Producers continued to provide livestock with supplemental feed...Vegetable growers reported the heat was killing tomato and watermelon vines, and tomato diseases continued to be a problem...Cotton was in good condition but needed moisture...Overall, rangeland and pasture forgages continued to decline in quality and quantity...Many stock tanks have gone dry...Livestock producers were relocating their cattle, hauling water or using poor-quality ground water...Some ranchers sold their entire herds."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D99ETVRO1.html

radbag · Post by **radbag** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:52 am

don't tell me about a drought...the northeast has had record amounts of rain this spring/summer

in all seriousness, the farmers in saskatchewan have already written off 2009 for a harvest...it's unfortunate but what do you feed cattle if the crops are all burnt out?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/farmers-start-to-write-off-year-as-drought-parches-prairie-land/article1203663/

annarborgator · Post by **annarborgator** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:04 pm

All you can do is buy feed from areas that are producing a crop this year. Or stop raising cattle.