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237 comments on DrumBeat: April 3, 2008

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jewishfarmer on April 3, 2008 - 9:28am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

You beat me on that one ;-). Note the 33 countries in danger of unrest and the potential problems of midwest flooding delaying planting - what happens if we have another flood year, like 1993?

Sharon

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westexas on April 3, 2008 - 9:38am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

If you have a link, you might post it. I don't get links from my Wall Street source. BTW, I don't know if you saw the following article about a CSA operation just outside Dallas:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN...

Also, I quoted you at a Casey Research symposium. I described the Brother In Law On the Couch (BOC) Syndrome, as potentially "The most serious problem we face." I described BOC as an excellent reason to own a small organic garden/farm. You can put the in-laws and unemployed college graduates to work on the farm when they move in with you.

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tompaah7503 on April 3, 2008 - 9:42am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Here you go, found the article on http://news.google.com , entering "rice jumps" in the search field
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acnqou1542Qs&refer=home

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kenny on April 3, 2008 - 4:53pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The article cites a 3% annual increase in grain demand, and an expected 3.5% decrease in rice exports. Why does this scenario seem so familiar?

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jewishfarmer on April 3, 2008 - 10:55am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Actually both observations come from the article you posted that I was going to - they are quoted in your link ;-).

I'm currently writing an article about the Land Export Food Model, so the quoting will be mutual ;-).

Sharon

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710 on April 3, 2008 - 9:42am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Here's a link to that story:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aBeY9Sy_lkBA

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darwinsdog on April 3, 2008 - 12:43pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

- what happens if we have another flood year, like 1993?

The way the Corp of Engineers has mismanaged the Mississippi floodplain the past century, massive floods are inevitable. Mark Twain himself warned about how stupid it is to try to "control" the mighty Mississip. What needs to be done is to rip the levees out & let the big ole river act like a river's supposed to. Farm the flood plain but don't live there. If people are stupid enuf to "develop" the floodplain, they shouldn't expect any taxpayer funded bailout when the river whacks them for their stupidity. Furthermore, the same mismanagement that has ruined the Mississippi floodplain has also ruined the delta buffer zone that once protected NOLA from hurricanes. Anyone dumb enuf to live in NOLA following Katrina deserves what they get when a cat 5 or 6 makes a direct hit one of these years.

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freeyourmind on April 3, 2008 - 12:53pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The point is that if that section of the country faces flooding and therefore and inability to produce substantial amounts of crops, everyone in the US suffers, and therefore everyone in the world suffers (as food supply drops and therefore food prices skyrocket). It's not a case of "Us vs. Them," or "thats what you get for living there," its a case of, "we all need that area to grow our food."

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darwinsdog on April 3, 2008 - 1:03pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The point is that if that section of the country faces flooding and therefore and inability to produce substantial amounts of crops, everyone... suffers

Allowing the river to periodically inundate its floodplain would renew the fertility of the alluvial soils. This would increase agricultural productivity in the North American Midwest, while reducing the amount of artificial fertilizer required. It would also allow the Mississippi to renew its delta, protecting the Gulf coastal plain from storm surges during hurricanes. Channelizing the Mississip only allows the precious topsoil that erodes due to agroindustrial stupidity to reach deep water. Eroded topsoil should be redeposited over the floodplain and in the delta, where it would do some good.

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freeyourmind on April 3, 2008 - 1:42pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Oh don't get me wrong, restoring the natural flooding cycle of the floodplain would be hugely beneficial to long term crop production from the area.

What the thread has been referring to is a summer where flooding ruins crop production for that year and how devastating that would be to our food supplies. It only takes 1 winter for people without food to starve.

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darwinsdog on April 3, 2008 - 2:10pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Okay, gotcha. But even in '93 farmers managed to grow a crop on the floodplain. Taking out the levees & allowing snowmelt to renew the floodplain might preclude winter wheat and delay working the fields some years, but it wouldn't eliminate an entire growing season's crop. The occasional short-term detriment to agriculture would be enormously offset by the long-term benefit.

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AlanfromBigEasy on April 3, 2008 - 12:56pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Your ignorance of hydrology, economics, culture, public law and value is astounding !

For he knew the price of everything and the value of nothing

Alan

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237 comments on DrumBeat: April 3, 2008

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