Food Prices Looking to the Sky

Jul 13, 2012

Desperate times facing Farmers in Midwestern US

By Joe Dales, Farms.com

Farmers across North America are looking out over their fields these days and are concerned that the plants are withering and dying because of the lack of rainfall. Weather experts are saying this is the worst drought in nearly 25 years and it is spreading across the Midwestern USA, a major grain producing area. The hardest hit areas including - Southern Illinois and Indiana, farmers are cutting and baling the dead corn plants in an attempt to salvage some of the feed value for cattle and dairy cows.

The United States Department of Agriculture has released a series of reports that are predicting the corn and soybean crops will yield less grain then was anticipated earlier in the spring. The reduced supply of corn and soybeans leads to increases in major agriculture commodity futures prices which are determined on the commodity exchanges.

“It is still too soon to predict how this drought will affect the price of food consumers pay.” Richard Volpe, a USDA Food Markets Research Economist, pointed out, “The government has already predicted food prices will increase this year by as much as 3.5%. It won’t be clear until the fall when all of the damage is known, how much the crop loss will add to that.” A rule of thumb is that food prices typically climb about 1 percent for every 50 percent increase in average corn prices.”

The price of meat will likely see some of the largest increases because grain is used to feed livestock and is the major cost component to produce a pound of meat. “When corn and soybean prices rise, eventually the price of meat must increase, “says beef producer Amanda Brodhagen.

Corn is widely used as a food ingredient in products such as the sweetener in soft drinks, cereals, corn starch and in sauces but it only accounts for a small percentage of the cost to produce such products.

In the meantime, farmers will be looking skyward in the hopes that rain will quench the thirst of their dying crops.

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.