Serious: Climate, crops, costs.

JeromeBarry1

https://electroverse.net/usda-cannot-extend-planting-dates-money-before-food

That is just one article. Electroverse is one site with data about weather and climate. The focus of the site is to publicize the onset and progress of the Grand Solar Minimum.

The end of every article is "Prepare. Grow your own".

Discuss.

LenGray

Honestly, I'd want this information corroborated with a few peer-reviewed sources before I'd start worrying.

This website you linked was bought through WordPress, has advertisements, doesn't contain a copyright, and it has a minimum amount of cited sources (two, that I saw) which were not properly cited, relevant/current, or given a proper amount of context. All in all-- an opinion piece, and not a very well-researched or partial opinion, at that.

That's not to say that the USDA isn't concerned with crop yields, but the data in this article isn't a good reflection of those concerns or of the routes it's taking to address them.

sgt1372

My impression was the the article was mainly voicing concrrn about likely lower corn & soybean production; not a system wide concern about the availability of other crops.

FWIW, anyone who doesn't believe that climate chg is REAL is simply an idiot or has financial and/or political interests that prevent him/her from pubicly admitting it.

As far as corn production is concerned, more corn is used to make fructose/sugar supplements and cattle feed than as food for people. I eat very little corn or non-sugar based corn products anyway, so it really doesn't matter to me if corn production collapes or not.

As for soybean production, most US production is and WAS intended for export to China and other Asian countries because we really don't each much soybean in this country. BUT, Trump's trade war w/China has already dried up Asian demand for US grown soybeans, such that many US soybean growers are near bankruptcy and are unable to sell any soybeans that they have and unwilling to grow anymore because they can get a price for it that will allow them to show a profit.

So, even if the premise of article is true, the story is more complex that just not being able to plant sufficent crops.

lemurcat2

I don't think this year being bad (because extremely wet) means we should assume there's some global or country-wide agriculture failure coming (although climate change is real and creates unpredictablility, farming has always had to deal with unpredictable weather and natural phenomena).

Also "grow your own" isn't a response to the current issues, as the same weather threatening the corn/soybeans here also meant the local farm I get a share from was about a month behind on all their crops, and my own garden has similar issues.

sgt1372 wrote: »

I eat very little corn or non-sugar based corn products anyway, so it really doesn't matter to me if corn production collapes or not.

If it actually did (vs. a this year thing) it would affect the cost of meat. I don't eat corn-finished beef, since I source it from local farms whose cattle are entirely pastured, but even for me I'm sure the cost would go up if the cost of other meat went up, demand shifted, chain reaction.

Btw, the amount for HFCS isn't very high either. I've seen various numbers depending on the year, but one breakdown: 35% biofuels, 33% animal feed, 8& distillers grains (leftover from ethanol production also used for animal feed); 15% exported. For various food uses: 5% HFCS and other sweeteners.

Given how tiny the percent goes to corn for just eating (fresh or frozen or in other dishes), it just shows how much we are talking about in that corn seems pretty ubiquitous.

Here's another story: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-illinois-crops-delayed-extreme-weather-20190606-story.html

And updated numbers: https://www.agprofessional.com/article/crop-progress-shows-how-delayed-corn-soybeans-are

shaumom

sgt1372 wrote: »

I eat very little corn or non-sugar based corn products anyway, so it really doesn't matter to me if corn production collapes or not.

Agree with what most folks are saying about the article, but just referencing this^ bit.

I have a lot of allergies, and one of the things I react to is corn, so I obviously have to learn how to avoid it in my diet and daily life. I think most folks are unaware at just how much of the food industry (and the medical industry) will be impacted whenever there are corn production issues. All of us will be impacted, in some way or another, honestly. (At least, here in the USA. Some of these don't apply elsewhere)

Just some examples:
1. Corn is not only one of the major starches used in making gluten free food, it is also used in the processing of xanthan gum, which is a major component of gluten free products.
2. Corn is used in the making of man-made ethylene gas used to ripen fruit.
3. Corn is one of the components used in many of the soaps/cleansers that are used in cleaning equipment lines for food production.
4. Corn is very commonly used in vitamin supplements (whether alone, or added to fortified foods) because it stands up to stomach acids just long enough to protect the vitamins in the stomach before breaking down by the time they reach the gut to be absorbed.
5. Corn is used in ripening sprays for some of our produce.
6. Corn is commonly used in the creation of citric acid, which we use not only as an ingredient in foods, but also in things like water softening or helping prevent meat from spoiling as quickly (those little white packets under raw meat contain citric acid, typically).
7. Not to mention that it's rare, at least currently, to find processed food that doesn't contain corn syrup, corn starch or citric acid that corn was used to create.
8. Cornstarch is also commonly used to help prevent sticking during packaging, even though it's not listed as an ingredient - some cheese, for example, have cornstarch on the block of cheese to prevent it sticking to the plastic packaging. Non-waxed paper plates have corn starch put on to prevent sticking to each other, even.



In the medical community and elsewhere:
1. Corn is commonly used to make serums for allergy prick testing.
2. Corn is what the dextrose solution given to people in IV's is derived from.
3. Probably over 90% of pills and tablets for prescribed or over the counter meds and vitamins have some form of corn or corn derived product in them, often corn starch.
4. Corn is commonly an ingredient in, or part of the processing for, glycerin, disinfectants, lubricants, and preservatives that are used in a hospital setting.
5. Cornstarch is commonly used on paper products used in a medical (and other) settings, especially those stored on rolls or folded up, to prevent the paper from sticking to itself, whether that's women's hygiene products, paper towels, or even toilet paper.
6. Cornstarch is also very commonly used in the making of paper and cardboard (like for magazines, books, cereal boxes, etc..), for a shinier finish.



This is not to say that other ingredients can't be found for many of these (although some, it would be quite difficult), but at this point, no one has the production of anything ELSE set up to the levels that would be needed to replace corn in all of the above items (which are not even an exhaustive list, frankly), and it takes time to get that done. Which means whenever there is a problem with corn production, again - I think the vast majority of the country will be impacted by it.

kshama2001

Ironically, corn is not a staple food for me but I did send my OH to the store for some today. Now I'm interested in the availability, quality, and price.

My strawberries were indeed affected by the wet weather, but nothing else was. Well, the pole beans may be off to a slow start, but I am new to growing them. I expect they will explode in a month.