In three words? Higher Food Prices. From Michael Snyder writing at The Economic Collapse:
Crop Catastrophe In The Midwest – Latest USDA Crop Progress Report Indicates That A Nightmare Scenario Is Upon Us
The last 12 months have been the wettest in all of U.S. history, and this has created absolutely horrific conditions for U.S. farmers. Thanks to endless rain and historic flooding that has stretched on for months, many farmers have not been able to plant crops at all, and a lot of the crops that have actually been planted are deeply struggling. What this means is that U.S. agricultural production is going to be way, way down this year. The numbers that I am about to share with you are deeply alarming, and they should serve as a wake up call for all of us. The food that each one of us eats every day is produced by our farmers, and right now our farmers are truly facing a nightmare scenario.
You can view the latest USDA crop progress report right here. According to that report, corn and soybean production is way behind expectations.
Last year, 78 percent of all corn acreage had been planted by now. This year, that number is sitting at just 49 percent.
And the percentage of corn that has emerged from the ground is at a paltry 19 percent compared to 47 percent at this time last year.
We see similar numbers when we look at soybeans.
And it is not just crops in the USA:
Over in Asia, the biggest problem right now is African Swine Flu. Earlier today, I came across a CNBC article which stated that “up to 200 million Chinese pigs” may have already been lost to this nightmarish disease…
A trade fight with the U.S. isn’t the only war China is fighting. African swine flu has decimated the pig population in China and sent pork prices soaring. As many as up to 200 million Chinese pigs have reportedly been lost due to the disease.
Now, Wall Street analysts are scrambling to assess the fallout from the fast spreading illness and how to invest around it.
The entire U.S. pork industry does not even produce 200 million pigs in an entire year.
Despite the hyperbolic name of his blog, Dr. Snyder is not your typical TEOTWAWKI Survivalist - his writing is well thought out and based on concrete data, not hand waving and rhetoric.
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