USDA Drops an Agricultural Bombshell!

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

USDA Drops an Agricultural Bombshell!

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Interesting. Some of it I've seen referenced elsewhere sometime ago.

I would venture to say that if commodities prices are up, we'll see a great increase in production by farmers in the next cycles. Prices may go up temporarily, but they should ease back down, assuming we don't end up having conditions that prevent increased utilization of agricultural capacity.

The author of this article makes a lot of simplistic assumptions, and brings up the phantom specter of Global Warming and other alarmist ideas. The guy is promoting his stock / bond / investment picks... He is a journalist and investment advisor, not a macro-economist.

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

well... All the same, I'm glad I have my wheat supply!

arbilad · Head Chef

It's not just production of wheat. It's distribution. We had a bumper wheat crop in Colorado this year. But increased regulation of the trucking industry means that we don't have the trucks to take the wheat to market.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Yeah, I read it as not so much normal cycles in wheat production but the stockpiling that we need to be worried about... and if it's the lowest in 59 years...?!? I think we have a higher population than we did 59 years ago, don't we?

I think the point is, again, don't rely on anyone else to feed yourself or those you have a responsiblity over.

arbilad · Head Chef

Don't even rely on the church to feed you. They do an excellent job of helping out church members in need right now. But they couldn't feed the whole church, or even a significant percentage thereof. We are given individual stewardship. One part of that is providing for them. We have been told to set food aside. Anyone who doesn't get their year's supply is acting incorrectly with their stewardship. I know that that sounds harsh, but the brethren have frequently stressed how very vital this is. They have even suggested that you give up vacations, new television sets, boats, whatever you need to in order to get your year's supply.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

The Church cannot be expected to provide for every one of its millions of members in case of public or personal disaster. --James E. Faust

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

arbilad wrote:
They have even suggested that you give up vacations, new television sets, boats, whatever you need to in order to get your year's supply.

AND... as in my case if you have already given up those things, barter! biggrin

It is amazing what it is possible to do if you ask for the Lord's help and keep your eyes open. I have been GIVEN tons of wheat... evileye

Mahonri · Senior Bucketkeeper

arbi,

This is just weird... I'm on lunch hour at work, using dialup and Viola! I can post. I'll bet when I get back onto my high speed internet at home I won't be able to post again.

Guess we'll wait a few hours and see.
________________________________________________

Unfortunately, there are many, many members of the Church who just make every excuse in the book NOT to have their 1 year or even their 3 months supply as they have been asked.

I wonder how much I could make if I planted my 8 acres into wheat?
just thinking ahead...

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

The really sad thing is Mahonri is that we have been given tons (literally tons) of wheat that was less than 2 years old in #10 cans that members chose not to move, when relocating to new states, etc. To ME it wouldn't be worth it to NOT moving my years supply. I'd hire my own truck/trailer for that particular part of my household needs and move it myself if I had to... it takes time to build a supply up...

As for how to afford it??? The church has made that SO easy... Just do it is my motto!

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

There was a guy here in ole' Utah that was just getting rid of a ton and a half of wheat - all canned and ready to go - the y2k thing didn't happen, so he's dumping it for like 1/5 of the price on Emergency Essentials. I just was too late.

arbilad · Head Chef

I picked up some stuff recently that was getting rid of the year's supply someone else had given them. They weren't members, so it wasn't quite as sad. But I took advantage of it anyway and took home some additional beans. They were sharing it amongst many people, so I didn't get much, but every bit helps.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Yeah, if yer gonna' screw people over, it's better if they're not members.

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

Cocobeem wrote:

Yeah, if yer gonna' screw people over, it's better if they're not members.

*snort*

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

Cocobeem wrote:

The Church cannot be expected to provide for every one of its millions of members in case of public or personal disaster. --James E. Faust

That quote looks kinda familiar... biggrin

Mahonri · Senior Bucketkeeper

Testing to see if I can post from Home.

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

hurray!!! You did it!!!

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

Cocobeem wrote:
it's better if they're not members.

Hey Coco... If you tell the person that you are taking advantage of that this is a BIG mistake... (to which the reply it's cheaper to buy new stuff where we are going)... Do you HAVE to point out that the odds are against them that they WILL use the money they save not shipping to buy new stuff, cause who ARE we kidding... no one has the money to buy 2 years worth of anything once they move! OH and BTW, I did tell them that they were DUMB to give away their whole storage... But that just made them mad and then they gave the TP to someone else... so yeah, shot myself in the foot trying to help my fellow member there!

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

and the winner IS???

mirkwood · Senior Bucketkeeper

I wish someone around here would move and leave me their storage.

I just put up 225 lbs. of rice and 100 lbs. of hard white wheat on my own for under $300.00.

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Jeez, yeah! I've never heard of someone moving and leaving their food storage... I should help people move more... "Gosh, you're not thinking of taking all THIS, are you?"

PollyAnna · Senior Bucketkeeper

We were living in UT the first time it happened (over 25 yrs ago... and the people were moving to the East Coast and they were paying by the lb... Still I would have found a way... that was the time that I made the sister mad, and she gave the TP to another member of the ward... (we rotate well so that wheat is all gone now...) the last time this same thing happened was 5 years ago I got a TON of wheat and rice... (almost... it was 750 lbs of wheat, 350 lbs of rice)... But that is about all they had in their storage... that time I just suggested that there might be a way to take it and the sister said she had no desire to do so... so I said thank you and took accepted the storage...

We are just about through that rice... I was noticing that the dates on the cans at the top of those box stacks are what we have purchased 3-4 yrs ago... The wheat is still a large portion of what we have...