Note From Jan . . . .
The End Of Cheap Food ?
I am sure that many of you are aware what has been happening with food reserves. Who has not gone to the grocery store in the last 2-3 months & seen huge price increases.
In a "flour facts" report from General Mills, they report that our grain levels are lower than they have ever been & go even further to state that "if we continue using grain at the rate we are, the WORLD will run out of grain before the end of 2008"
About 4 months ago I was talking to one of my food brokers; he was quoting me a price on honey. I made a comment on how high the price was, when he responded; "At least you are not asking me for a price on flour" I asked why & he began to tell me what is happening with grain, flour, wheat, & other commodities.
I was getting quite low on wheat, so I called the farm where I buy wheat from out of Montana and was shocked to find out that that it had gone up 60% from the time I ordered before. I got this pit in my stomach & started my research to find out why. I ordered 2 pallets of wheat, this was a Friday, and it would ship on Monday. On Monday I called the Wheat Farm to try to add an additional pallet of wheat, they said it would be no problem, but it would be an additional 25% more per bag over what they had quoted me on Friday -wow; now it had doubled in price.
My research led me to several resources, grain reports from General Mills, talking with several food brokers, farmers, reading everything I could get my hands on to find out what was going on.
In a "flour facts" report from General Mills, they report that our grain levels are lower than they have ever been & go even further to state that "if we continue using grain at the rate we are, the WORLD will run out of grain before the end of 2008"
This is a very bold statement but, if you take into account what has happened perhaps it will help you to understand what is going on.
I am not just talking about grain shortages, I am talking about all kinds of food shortages & price increases. Think about this if there is not enough grain for us to use for all of the things we use grain in (think cereal in the store, bread, pancake mix, etc) prices are going to go up. If there is a grain shortage, beef will cost more, eggs will cost more, milk, butter, cheese etc. will all go up in price, because it costs more to feed all the animals.
I am reminded once again just one more reason why we need to have a personal food reserve - a food storage plan, just like having a savings account for a rainy day, a food storage plan can help you save money during tight times.
These are a few of the things that are affecting our food reserve.
· This past year 38 new Ethanol plants were put in the United States, farmers who were planting other grains like wheat, started planting Corn, (it pays better for Ethanol) Last year more than a third of the entire US maize crop went to ethanol for fuel.
· Most areas which planted wheat & other grains were affected by severe drought & crop levels were very low. Severe droughts have also badly affected crops in Cuba, Cambodia, Australia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Morocco, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, Portugal, Russian, Spain & Canada, including mid-western US where most of our grain is grown. In some areas the crop yield was half what it normally was.
· We export most of the grains grown to other countries. Even though we have fewer crops than we normally would, we continue to export to other countries. For example, China's wheat exports increased by 200 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of last year. Corn exports grew by 85 percent during the period, while those of soybeans expanded by 24 percent, according to customs figures.
· The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has estimated that the global grain market will continue to face supply pressures, and that grain prices will remain high due to surging energy prices and increasing demand for corn and soybeans to make bio-fuel.
· The world has consumed more corn, wheat and rice than it produced in six of the past eight years. Global grain consumption expands nearly every year due to increasing population and incomes. However, grain production has fallen behind and reserves have been used to satisfy expanding demand. Total grain use (coarse grains, wheat and rice) increased from 5.11 tons per day in 1999-00 to 5.60 in 2006-07. At the same time, global grain reserves declined from 114.7 days of usage to 56.7 days.
· Oil prices are continuing to climb, $100.00 per barrel right now & still climbing. The US Dollar is at an all time low. We are more in debt now as a nation than we have ever been.
O.K. what does all this mean? I believe that farmers will start to plant more grain even though our country and other countries are growing crops that we would normally feed animals with & use for human consumption. I think it is something that is not going to happen overnight, as a matter of fact it is going to take a few years. Prices are going to continue to rise at the gas pump & at the grocery store.
I have always felt the need to be better prepared, it brings a sense of peace to you when you know that you have planned ahead to have the things that you and your family, friends & loved ones might need. There are all types of emergencies, planning ahead BEFORE the need arises will bring you strength, peace & assurance that you will need for the coming times ahead.
Jan LeBaron
The Country Store & Healthy Harvest
. . Providing you with the very best in emergency preparedness
& food storage since 1987.
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