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Food Shortages and Higher Food Prices Coming?

Compiled By Howard Harris

significant food crop, #2 Hard Red Winter Wheat. This particular wheat product is THE wheat product used to make bread. America's plains states from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas are considered America's Breadbasket because #2 Hard red winter wheat is primarily the crop grown in the region. This year severe weather including drought has severely affected the crop. A new USDA forecast reveals that winter wheat production is in far worse shape than had been expected. This is particularly true in Kansas where the crop is the most dominant crop planted in that state. Kansas agriculture officials are reporting that the crop continues to deteriorate day by day for a variety of reasons including crop disease, insects and weather. At the moment, the crop is expected to come in at about 25% less harvest than in 2005. It is expected to be the worst harvest since 2002. Keep in mind that worldwide demand is growing for the product.

How bad is the Kansas harvest? Right now is the peak of harvest season for Kansas #2 Hard, red winter wheat. Normally, farmers are scrambling for help in getting their wheat cut but wheat combines are not all that busy because a normal 50 bushels an acre field is yielding maybe 15 bushels and it doesn't take nearly as long to cut 15 bushels in an acre as it does to cut 50 bushels in an acre. Kansas officials noted that yesterday alone there was a large surplus of wheat combines and vehicles sitting idle for lack of crops to cut. As much as 20% of the acres of wheat planted yielded nothing.

Nationally, the #2 hard, red winter wheat crop will be off by at least 16% from last year and many experts believe that number to be very optimistic as many forecasters expect the national harvest to mirror that of Kansas. Regarding the quality of the crop harvest, 50% is reported to be in very poor to poor condition, 30% in fair conditoin and 18% as good with only 2% reported as excellent.

Such news may well be a forerunner of things to come. The Biblical prophecies predict famine during the Tribulation period. Weather patterns and crop disease patterns and trends suggest the world is moving rapidly towards that direction in the not too distant future. More on this from Businessweek, here.

Drought Affecting Crops and Livestock

As drought affects the grain crops used for livestock feed, cattlemen across the Midwest are finding themselves forced to liquidate herds as they are unable to afford to feed their animals as crop prices skyrocket on grain harvest shortfalls. Cattle ranchers note that grass for feed is gone under extremely hot and dry conditions that have persisted. More details here.

Japan Warned of Food Shortages

Japan is facing a potential food shortage that could reduce the average daily diet to the meager levels of the post-WW2 era. This warning comes from a Japanese research institute which notes that Japan must now compete with rising demand from China for food. The report indicates that the typical Japanese daily diet could be savagely curtailed within the next 10 years. Japan is forced to import most of its meat from around the world including Australia and the United States plus Arentina and Brazil. More details here.

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