World Grain Stocks Fall To 57 Days Of Consumption

WORLD GRAIN STOCKS FALL TO 57 DAYS OF CONSUMPTION

This year’s world grain harvest is projected to fall short of consumption by 61 million tons, marking the sixth time in the last seven years that production has failed to satisfy demand. As a result of these shortfalls, world carryover stocks at the end of this crop year are projected to drop to 57 days of consumption, the shortest buffer since the 56-day-low in 1972 that triggered a doubling of grain prices.

World carryover stocks of grain, the amount in the bin when the next harvest begins, are the most basic measure of food security. Whenever stocks drop below 60 days of consumption, prices begin to rise. It thus came as no surprise when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) projected in its June 9 world crop report that this year’s wheat prices will be up by 14 percent and corn prices up by 22 percent over last year’s.

This price projection assumes normal weather during the summer growing season. If the weather this year is unusually good, then the price rises may be less than those projected, but if this year’s harvest is sharply reduced by heat or drought, they could far exceed the projected rises.

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We are so close to the edge in so many ways.... :shk:

[edit on 16-6-2006 by loam]

The USDA is an engorged beast. Paying farmers not to grow, to keep prices artificially high, so that regular folks can't afford to eat without state assistance (which creates a 'need' for more bureaucracy). Ridiculous inefficiency, and it's become so common people don't even question it anymore.

(Edit to add: I can't speak for other countries, I have very little information on their particular issues. If it sounds like I'm picking on the US, it's because I live here, and I have some degree of experience dealing with the regimented inefficiency we call 'government')




[edit on 16-6-2006 by WyrdeOne]

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
...some degree of experience dealing with the regimented inefficiency we call 'government'...

An expertise all Americans seem to be able to claim lately....

Yep.

I got a glimpse last summer: Hey buddy... Spare Some Food?

No doubt government policies and subsidies are distorting the markets in many countries but the weather is sure not helping.

This is not good.
.

[edit on 6/16/2006 by Gools]

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
The USDA is an engorged beast. Paying farmers not to grow, to keep prices artificially high, so that regular folks can't afford to eat without state assistance (which creates a 'need' for more bureaucracy). Ridiculous inefficiency, and it's become so common people don't even question it anymore.

(Edit to add: I can't speak for other countries, I have very little information on their particular issues. If it sounds like I'm picking on the US, it's because I live here, and I have some degree of experience dealing with the regimented inefficiency we call 'government')




[edit on 16-6-2006 by WyrdeOne]

This gets me everytime I go to the fruits and vegetables section. It's like the food that is best for us is the most expensive. And then you go back later on in the week, there's still a stockpile and then the flies are hovering around. So majority of the good food is thrown out.

And the people with foodstamps have to end up buying the canned foods because they can't afford all the fruits and vegetables that are gonna end up in the garbage.

My husband worked at a restaurant and at the end of the day, he was ordered to throw all the bread out. Brand new bags that weren't even opened. About a block away was a mission which was there to help feed the homeless. And these would be expensive bags of bread too.

I mean come on, the people on the top can't figure, Oh...instead of us throwing this food away, let's help feed the poor folk with it?

All of you make sure to keep some honey in your cupboards or in your survival packs...I heard honey helps suppress hunger and thirst.


God Bless

I mean come on, the people on the top can't figure, Oh...instead of us throwing this food away, let's help feed the poor folk with it?

In my city, the reason why business don't do it, is because of Municipal Bylaws prohibiting the donation of "perishable" food. At a Donut shop I worked at, they forced us to throw out sometimes two to three garbage bags full of food with a Native mission just down the street. I looked up the law and my boss wasn't BSing me. He turned out to be a pretty good guy and instead donated a bunch of money to that mission(something on the order of 100+ thousand(he owned something like a dozen storefronts)). It's the Governments Fault, as per usuall................................

Canada does not help its farmers like the United States and other countries do.

I should know as my family is in agriculture.

Nobody here can turn a profit. And no organic farming is no better.

Few people know, but here, the prices of grain are lower than they were during the great depression, yet farmers continue on with very little government help.

A crop like Canola used to get 9 dollars a bushel a few years ago. Now you are lucky at around the 5 dollar mark. Thats a huge loss considering input costs are always rising. Fuel and fertilizer being the worst.

The sad thing is that food has not risen with inflation enough to justify the massive costs it takes to feed the world. Grain prices have been relatively the same for decades.

In my part of the world we are also experiencing huge floods and flood damage to crops. Entire farms have not been able to seed. And these are not small operations. I cannot remember the exact crop estimates but they are very low here. And its now too late to seed much of anything. Crops that are already in the ground have been damaged by the excessive moisture. Our government is so far refusing any payment.

In Canada we get a few farm payments, but they are very tricky. To those listening in the cities they may sound huge, but they amount to little or nothing. The government has supposedly given out a few billion in CAIS funding, yet many farmers get nothing or have to pay it back (very strict ruling). 2 Billion may sound like a lot of money, but factor that into all available farmland in a country as large as Canada.

A growing trend seems to be that farms have to produce more to break even. That may be the case. Its quite common for a small farm to be around 3 thousand acres now. Our farm is quite small, and we have planted less than 1 thousand acres this year.

The Canadian farmers could feed alot of people, but we just cant afford to anymore. Most farms around here have not turned a profit in years.

Yes thats right, they dont even make money.

Most farmers around here also work off the farm. Some 75 percent of farm income comes from off the farm.

Farmers are leaving in record numbers around here. A nice pay awaits in the oil fields.

Rant over.

Another little thing......

I made a thread about this but I cant remember where I put it ...

I figured out that Cananda could "donate" (pay the farmers out of its budget) its entire crop of wheat produced a year to Africa.

At a nice price of 5 dollars a bushel, we would still have money left over in our aid to Africa budget.

Money we are giving them anyways ! Put it to use and feed these so called starving folks.

But no. There are laws. Laws saying we cant "donate" that much physical product.

Originally posted by sardion2000
In my city, the reason why business don't do it, is because of Municipal Bylaws prohibiting the donation of "perishable" food. At a Donut shop I worked at, they forced us to throw out sometimes two to three garbage bags full of food with a Native mission just down the street. I looked up the law and my boss wasn't BSing me. He turned out to be a pretty good guy and instead donated a bunch of money to that mission(something on the order of 100+ thousand(he owned something like a dozen storefronts)). It's the Governments Fault, as per usuall................................

Thank you for this information. Regardless what the bylaws says, it would be more respectible to give it to the poor who do go looking in the garbage for food anyways, and it would be much cleaner for them.


~DearWife

Behold a Black Horse

Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!" Revelation 6:6

I just sold a few quarts of wheat.

Maybe someday this farming will really pay off......... (in an evil way)

Originally posted by DearWife

Originally posted by sardion2000
In my city, the reason why business don't do it, is because of Municipal Bylaws prohibiting the donation of "perishable" food. At a Donut shop I worked at, they forced us to throw out sometimes two to three garbage bags full of food with a Native mission just down the street. I looked up the law and my boss wasn't BSing me. He turned out to be a pretty good guy and instead donated a bunch of money to that mission(something on the order of 100+ thousand(he owned something like a dozen storefronts)). It's the Governments Fault, as per usuall................................

Thank you for this information. Regardless what the bylaws says, it would be more respectible to give it to the poor who do go looking in the garbage for food anyways, and it would be much cleaner for them.


~DearWife

Yes it would be cleaner, but the fine imposed by the city makes it risky to partake. I believe the fine was in excess of 10,000 CND Dollers. Repeated "offenders" can face the risk of having their business forcibly closed for a short period of time, or in some rare cases, permenantly...

[edit on 17-6-2006 by sardion2000]