Food is going up. WAY up.

[HeXen]

i was ok with food prices until they raised the cost of Cheez-its to $3.99 a box THEN made the box smaller!
after that, i just *sniff*
just havn't been the same

 

[Mixolydian]

We have been over this. If it's SO VAST, how can they possible plant all that corn? How can they get the manpower to harvest it all?

My head hurts from all the stupid in this thread.

 

[Red Squirrel]

We should GPS tag the cows and let them roam free and find their own food, then come and get them when the just-in-time delivery system demands it so

Actually wouldn't it be cheaper to just have large fields and let them free roam, like traditional farms? The food would basically naturally grow, you don't have to deal with with food/poop infrastructure, just a field. They would live better lives and probably be healthier and tastier too. It's win win.

 

[BladeVenom]

that's a start. only what 2 million more farms at 900million acres to go!


btw blade you got a link? i suspect i know where the farms are that get irrigated but would like confirmation.

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Public...ts/Farm_and_Ranch_Irrigation_Survey/index.php

"While just 16 percent of all harvested cropland is irrigated, this acreage generates nearly half the value of all crops sold." So the most expensive crops are already usually irrigated.

 

[OverVolt]

Actually wouldn't it be cheaper to just have large fields and let them free roam, like traditional farms? The food would basically naturally grow, you don't have to deal with with food/poop infrastructure, just a field. They would live better lives and probably be healthier and tastier too. It's win win.

This is the way we used to do it. The corn subsidy made the modern method economically feasible, but without the subsidy it might not actually be the best method. The industry would be on its head without the drought as it is. They are going to struggle and flail around quite a bit.

 

[moonbogg]

We have too much food anyway and we are too fat. 90% of America could use a good drought now and then.

 

[Northern Lawn]

and food is actually very cheap, real food I mean. Vegetables and fruit. Processed foods are expensive, less pizza more salads. Save a bundle and get healthy to boot.

 

[OverVolt]

and food is actually very cheap, real food I mean. Vegetables and fruit. Processed foods are expensive, less pizza more salads. Save a bundle and get healthy to boot.

Yes I love living in starvation metabolism on 600 calories/day, why doesn't everyone do this!?

 

[sandorski]

Soon my Manboobs won't seem so bad!

 

[HeXen]

and food is actually very cheap, real food I mean. Vegetables and fruit. Processed foods are expensive, less pizza more salads. Save a bundle and get healthy to boot.

i'd like to know where you shop. in my area, fruits and veggies are insane compared to junk food once for ounce. Salad dressing alone is $3.49 at the generic brand level, not to mention the cost of salad mix. For the wieght in food, i could buy a hungry man meal 2 for $5, or 10 for $10 on frozen meals when on sale

 

[waggy]

and food is actually very cheap, real food I mean. Vegetables and fruit. Processed foods are expensive, less pizza more salads. Save a bundle and get healthy to boot.

where do you live? here veggies and fruit are far more expensive then processed foods

 

[God Mode]

In the future when food is scarce and being fat is a sign of beauty and wealth everyone strives for.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Hello, and welcome to last year. 2011 saw the worst drought in Texas history, with a an unbroken string of 40+ days of temps of over 100 degrees and record low rainfall.

I posted a thread last year of the ground cracking open here and there, grass lawns turning to straw, local trees dying en masse etc. It was the worst summer since 1980, our last go with 40+ days of uninterrupted 100 degree temps.

2012 has been much better and things have recovered. Assuming we all dont die in December, things will be better for America in 2013 with regard to rainfall.

Prayer helped us. Pray for rain.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Thousands of fish die as Midwest streams heat up

 

[Chiropteran]

where do you live? here veggies and fruit are far more expensive then processed foods

In Washington DC area, even at expensive grocery stores in the city a potato or ear of corn is less than $1, a bag of like 20 carrots is $1.50. Veggies are cheap unless you want to buy the "exotics" like turnip roots or parsnips, or if you pay extra for "organic" vegetables. As if the alternative is non-organic, hah.

Quality fresh MEAT is where it gets expensive, but if you get protein from eggs you can eat a lot cheaper off fresh food compared to McDonald's or whatever.

"While just 16 percent of all harvested cropland is irrigated, this acreage generates nearly half the value of all crops sold." So the most expensive crops are already usually irrigated.

Or you could turn that around and say that the farmers smart enough to irrigate make a lot more money than the ones who don't.

 

[DrPizza]

Or you could turn that around and say that the farmers smart enough to irrigate make a lot more money than the ones who don't.

Or, you could realize that irrigation is an added expense. If you have irrigation available, you grow higher value crops. Or, rather, if you are growing higher value crops, you would be more likely to have irrigation available to protect your higher value investment. I would surmise that most fruit orchards are irrigated - I know a lot of them around here are. The value of an acre of blueberries is a hell of a lot more valuable than an acre of cow corn. I'm sure there are places where it's economical enough to irrigate lower value crops - but with such a high value crop as blueberries, it makes sense to make sure you don't lose a year of production due to drought.

 

[Red Squirrel]

As an alternative to installing complex irrigation systems could they not use a plane, something like a water bomber, but instead of dropping the whole load at once it would do it gradually. Guess the fuel to run this plane would cost a lot over time compared to the one time cost of installing a system.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Good things can come of it.

America is fat and could use a slimming down.

Americans are complacent lazy asses as evidenced by posts here, if they get fed up, maybe they will go after the source of their ills, the Corporate heads that own the Politicians.

You could use a bit of sense. This drought is going to put a lot of farms out of business and they won't come back. Shake your fist at the sky if must have someone to blame.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Or, you could realize that irrigation is an added expense. If you have irrigation available, you grow higher value crops. Or, rather, if you are growing higher value crops, you would be more likely to have irrigation available to protect your higher value investment. I would surmise that most fruit orchards are irrigated - I know a lot of them around here are. The value of an acre of blueberries is a hell of a lot more valuable than an acre of cow corn. I'm sure there are places where it's economical enough to irrigate lower value crops - but with such a high value crop as blueberries, it makes sense to make sure you don't lose a year of production due to drought.

Also water rights are negotiated. You can't just dig a deep well and start pulling 10's of thousands of gallons of water from the local water table with out permission. You would dry up the wells of entire communities.

 

[DrPizza]

Also water rights are negotiated. You can't just dig a deep well and start pulling 10's of thousands of gallons of water from the local water table with out permission. You would dry up the wells of entire communities.

That only applies to a portion of the U.S. There was a thread here recently about some guy in Oregon who was diverting rain water into his own storage - he ended up in jail for 30 days. Here, I have a creek that flows through my land. If I decide to dam up the creek and build my own little pond (or lake as it would be called in a few states), I don't even need a permit if the dam is less than 15 feet high and holds less than 3 million gallons (about 1.3 acres with an average depth of 7 feet.) http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6321.html I've already checked with the DEC. Even though it's a stream that flows year round, there's nothing stopping me from damming the thing up. Since it flows from state land onto my land, nothing will stop the water from reaching me; but I can stop it from going past my property.

 

[Wreckem]

Also water rights are negotiated. You can't just dig a deep well and start pulling 10's of thousands of gallons of water from the local water table with out permission. You would dry up the wells of entire communities.

That is true for 49 states.

Texas on the other hand not so much.

 

[Chiropteran]

So, what happened guys? Why is my food still the same price as last year? Was this thread just a bunch of useless fear-mongering, like I said it was?

 

[Red Storm]

In the future when food is scarce and being fat is a sign of beauty and wealth everyone strives for.

Like in the past. :hmm:

 

[ElFenix]

So true.... I am in purchasing... And buy many products naturally derived...
I see prices of palm go up 40%.... So my prices go up 40%.......
Palm softens..... By 20% Prices drop by 15%...


Its a way of LIFE....

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Period_(punctuation)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis


edit: damnit necro

 

[Chiropteran]

edit: damnit necro

It's not an arbitrary necro. Many posters in this thread made strong claims that food prices would double or triple next year and never come back down due to the drought. Well, now it actually is "next year". I'm curious what excuses they will spin to explain the lack of price increases.

If it's more appropriate to start a new thread and link to this one I can do that.