Worst Drought Since the Dust Bowl
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,423
No doubt we'll be hearing more about this in coming weeks:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-w-bo ... 85797.html
Worst Drought Since the Dust Bowl
"July 15: 102 degrees. Corn and everything is mostly discussed . . . It is really too hot, dry, discouraging and devilish to do anything. . ."
"July 21: I have seen a good many bad years in this country . . . but I never saw any worse than this one. Corn is practically all destroyed now, pastures are as bare as January."
Nebraska farmer Don Hartwell wrote these despairing words in 1936. It was the darkest hour of the twin tortures of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, as author Timothy Egan noted in his book, The Worst Hard Time.
Now, the long dry season of 2012 has struck American farmers with a drought that threatens to surpass those "devilish" times. Once again the effects of extreme weather conditions are compounded by a hurting economy.
Corn crops are suffering. Many farmers will not produce the yields they have in past production years. And too many will not survive to plant another crop. Minority-owned farms, usually the most precarious in their operations, will be especially hard hit.
Most farmers rely on farm subsidies or federal crop insurance to cover crop losses. Many black farmers and other small producers cannot afford federal crop insurance premiums. They are just too expensive.
The least financially secure farmers are faced with the bottom line just like any other business: "Do I purchase federal crop insurance or do I purchase the high-cost corn and soybean seeds to plant my crops?" I can tell you from personal experience that farmers like me will purchase the seed every time.
This year's drought seems to be different than those of the past. Many states have experienced record numbers of 100-plus degree temperatures for weeks at a time. No crop can withstand such temperatures without rain.
Some states like Wisconsin have not had a drop of rain for 55 days. So even if it rains today, most of the crop damage is already done. When corn begins to make (meaning that the ear of corn begins to form), water is absolutely required, whether from rain or irrigation.
What does this mean for the average consumer? It means higher food prices in the grocery store. Corn is used in so many products from corn syrup to breakfast cereal, and industrial products. This prolonged arid spell will affect fruits and vegetables as well.
On a national scale we are faced with an estimated $100 billion in losses which means another blow to our already weak economy.
For me this year's drought is personal. Dry pastures, loss of hay, livestock suffering in the heat -- these are some of the hardships on my farm. And we face the certainty that corn and soybean production will be greatly reduced.
At the same time, there is opportunity amidst these disastrous times. Here is a chance for food superpowers such as Monsanto and other food industry giants who are clearly thriving off the backs of American farmers to give back and support those who have made their companies successful.
We also will need the support of state and federal governments to do their part.
We all can learn something from this drought. That is that no matter how much technological advancement we have made, no matter how far we think we have progressed, we are always at the mercy of nature.
We still can't make it rain.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-w-bo ... 85797.html
Worst Drought Since the Dust Bowl
"July 15: 102 degrees. Corn and everything is mostly discussed . . . It is really too hot, dry, discouraging and devilish to do anything. . ."
"July 21: I have seen a good many bad years in this country . . . but I never saw any worse than this one. Corn is practically all destroyed now, pastures are as bare as January."
Nebraska farmer Don Hartwell wrote these despairing words in 1936. It was the darkest hour of the twin tortures of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, as author Timothy Egan noted in his book, The Worst Hard Time.
Now, the long dry season of 2012 has struck American farmers with a drought that threatens to surpass those "devilish" times. Once again the effects of extreme weather conditions are compounded by a hurting economy.
Corn crops are suffering. Many farmers will not produce the yields they have in past production years. And too many will not survive to plant another crop. Minority-owned farms, usually the most precarious in their operations, will be especially hard hit.
Most farmers rely on farm subsidies or federal crop insurance to cover crop losses. Many black farmers and other small producers cannot afford federal crop insurance premiums. They are just too expensive.
The least financially secure farmers are faced with the bottom line just like any other business: "Do I purchase federal crop insurance or do I purchase the high-cost corn and soybean seeds to plant my crops?" I can tell you from personal experience that farmers like me will purchase the seed every time.
This year's drought seems to be different than those of the past. Many states have experienced record numbers of 100-plus degree temperatures for weeks at a time. No crop can withstand such temperatures without rain.
Some states like Wisconsin have not had a drop of rain for 55 days. So even if it rains today, most of the crop damage is already done. When corn begins to make (meaning that the ear of corn begins to form), water is absolutely required, whether from rain or irrigation.
What does this mean for the average consumer? It means higher food prices in the grocery store. Corn is used in so many products from corn syrup to breakfast cereal, and industrial products. This prolonged arid spell will affect fruits and vegetables as well.
On a national scale we are faced with an estimated $100 billion in losses which means another blow to our already weak economy.
For me this year's drought is personal. Dry pastures, loss of hay, livestock suffering in the heat -- these are some of the hardships on my farm. And we face the certainty that corn and soybean production will be greatly reduced.
At the same time, there is opportunity amidst these disastrous times. Here is a chance for food superpowers such as Monsanto and other food industry giants who are clearly thriving off the backs of American farmers to give back and support those who have made their companies successful.
We also will need the support of state and federal governments to do their part.
We all can learn something from this drought. That is that no matter how much technological advancement we have made, no matter how far we think we have progressed, we are always at the mercy of nature.
We still can't make it rain.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
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http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/ne ... h-20120719
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Which one had ill-conceived farming practices?
the 1930s Dust Bowl did not used good farming practices to protect the soil from wind erosion. No use of cover crops, crop rotation, etc. to protect the prairies then coupled with the severe drought it was a disaster. Al happening at the same time as the Great Depression...
Sorry know1, hope I didn't step on your toes with my answer. And JasonP, I hope that's what you were asking about.
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
I am almost at the point where I think our modern industrial ag. is far worse than what happened to ag. in the 1930s. The use of factory farms and the runoff waste from those farms in nauseating! We have so polluted our land and water especially along the Mississippi River and down to the Gulf that I don't know that anything will help repair that area anytime in the near future :(
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
ya ... growing things that don't grow there ... depleting the soil to the point where crazy amounts of fertilizer is required ... producing shittier food ... bankrupting farmers ... utilizing mass amounts of resources like water and energy ...
i can't believe people think that bioengineering and industrialized farming is saving us ... :(
Odd how one part of the country can have plenty of rain and in central and out west hardly any rain. I hope the farmers will be able to survive this drought.
peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
I live in KY and we just got a bit of rain in the past couple of days but so many of our crops have just withered and died - especially corn. Pretty sure our farmers are screwed this year :(
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
No worries. That's exactly what I was referring to and you said it better than I could.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
In KY as well and haven't mowed my lawn for over a month. Some of the grass actually went from brown to blackish...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
This drought alone has already sent soybeans and corn to record highs and we won't even see the real impact until this winter. If it were not for the improved seed and equipment, it would be an outright mega disaster right now.
Livestocks are already being thinned due to the impact of high feed prices. If you have a big freezer, start buying beef and pork in bulk right now. You will thank me in six months.
:fp:
sorry ... i'm not really keen on arguing against a monsanto PR piece ... nothing you said is true ... nothing ...
edit: sorry ... nothing in your first 3 sentences ... the part about raising the price is definitely true ...
I only made it halfway through before I was too scared to go on.
This is basically one of the definitions of climate change. Extremes one way or the other. Our lake here in Austin is drying up. We should receive a little over 30 inches of rain here each year. We've had a little over 30 the last 2.5 years. We did get a little relief last week but it could get dire if our lakes keep drying.
Yes we've only mowed once in the past 3 weeks. I'm in Louisville, where are you in KY? We had a bit of a storm last night and it blew the roof off the Crowne Plaza by the airport. Talk about weather extremes :(
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
It could also be argued that the loss of crop biodiversity in favor of a mono-crop system is one factor that has contributed to our current food woes.
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
Our crops are beginning to taste like fake food. Home grown food from small mixed plots is always better. Sure, we're very clover at growing 10,000 acre plots of GMO corn that can be changed into almost anything but so what? That not food for people- that's food for cattle or maybe even robots.
Will our clever science give us ways to adapt to climate change? Maybe, but I doubt it. Doesn't taking a closer look at natural cycles, eating locally grown healthy food, decreasing our pumping of CO2 and taking better care of the world we live in make more sense?
This drought, the hottest down poor on record at 109 degrees in Mecca , the the 327th consecutive month in which the temperature of the entire globe exceeded the 20th-century average, the multitude of strange weather related events are all warning signs from nature. Are we listening?
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
I'm close to Lexington. The storm that came through last night around 8PM looked as ominous as any that I can remember as it approached. There were thousands of pictures of it sent in to the local news. When it arrived, it really wasn't all that bad - a lot of rain and lightning, but not that much wind.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Key Arena - Nov 05, 2000
Gorge Amphitheater - Sep 01, 2005, Jul 22,23, 2006
Key Arena - Sept 21,22, 2009
Alpine Valley - Sept 3, 4 2011
That said, bio-engineered seed plays a very important role and without it starvation would be more rampant in today's over-populated world. There used to be a phrase "knee-high, by July" which indicated if corn was looking good. It's now "head-high, by July".
In 1960, average yield per acre was 60 bushels.
In 2010, average yield per acre was 160 bushels.
But to an environmentalist that holds corporations and bio-enginering as a boogyman, this increase has no effect on the world food supply.
:fp:
But those figures don't indicate the unknown consequences of messing with genetics/DNA, do not address good nutrition and loss of aquifers and top soil. The only reasoned, long-term solution to world food shortages are local agriculture and reduced population.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
But conventional agriculture is unsustainable and will destroy (and in some areas has already done so) the environment (which will also reduce the population). Why not a new food revolution in which we shift our American farmers away from an overabundance of (GMO) corn and soybeans and put them on the path of fruits, vegetables, and small scale herds?
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
In Grave Danger Of Falling Food ...a good old hour long video introduction to "permaculture" by the man who coined the term, Bill Mollison (a fucking genius\revolutionary\visionary). [also check out "Global Gardener" series]
Just trying to contribute something productive on this otherwise shit of a day.
:(
If I opened it now would you not understand?
http://www.economist.com/node/21559381?fsrc=scn/tw/fb/pe/Americandroughtworldprices
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned...
I AM MINE
Sorry to hear your day is the shits, Drifting... maybe a good time to step into the Lounge Car!
Thank you for posting these links! I'll check them out when I can give them undivided attention. I'm especially very much looking forward to seeing the Mollison permaculture video. The book is excellent but the full version ( Permaculture: A Designers Manual, ISBN 0908-22801-5) is still very expensive so if any of you out there are interested in this subject and find one for under $100, grab it- that's where they generally start at in used bookstores or on line.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
you know i TRY to be productive.
I don't want to knock the PDM because it is one heavy book FULL of shit, but I think practically speaking it is probably of little value to most western world homeowner types. Even an alternative farmer could probably do better. Again I'm not trying to knock it. I own it (along with i think EVERY mollison book, including the stupidly hard to find Ferment & Human Nutrition, and probably every other book on permaculture that was released in the last 10 years) but it is dense, "all over the place", his writing style is not easy to follow, and a lot of it (most of it) has to do with arid regions and extreme poverty type situations (and has a bad Australian bent all around). My favorite part of the PDM is actually the political section towards the very back where you finally get a true glimpse of just how anti-establishment his thinking really is. God i love him for that!
Anyway,
if i WAS suggesting books for the typical western world home gardener interested in doing some creative food type stuff at home, these are by far my four favorite books, in no particular order:
Designing & Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally - Robert Kourik
worth the price for the charts and lists by themselves. ridiculous amount of data\info but surprisingly really not a very good book for *designing* an edible landscape. lol.
Landscaping With Fruits And Vegetables - Fred Hagy
by FAR the best book on *designing* edible landscapes i have EVER read. Multiple colored perspective drawings of fully installed edible landscapes with numbered plant lists, a few good example design plans, and just a really good *colorful* graphically oriented book about edible landscape design.
How To Grow More Vegetables* - John Jeavons
Pretty much THE "go to" classic for alternative \ biodynamic farming practices. Has full charts & planting schedules for a 1 person garden and a 4 person family garden. If you just want to learn how to grow your food in regular old rectangular garden beds and don't care much for a full site design, just get this book.
The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency - John Seymour
If you're ready to start homesteading and have no idea how to farm - i'd say grab this book. I mean tools, animal husbandry & slaugher, vegetables, bread, cheese, beer & wine, basketry, etc.etc.etc. fucking EVERYthing is in this book. WELL illustrated too. Love it!
Thats all folks.
If I opened it now would you not understand?