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Markets nervous: will U.S. plant enough corn?
Carey Gillam, Reuters
… Indeed, with food prices racing higher around the world, and strong demand for corn from food companies, livestock producers and ethanol makers, U.S. corn production is considered a critical component of keeping people fed.
Higher prices for corn have fattened farmer wallets even as stocks from last year’s bumper crop remain sufficient for the short term.
But as spring planting season draws near, now market analysts fear that many U.S. farmers will not follow McCauley’s example but will instead plant soybeans, which are commanding historic high prices at more than $13 a bushel (compared with $5.50 a bushel for corn) and are much cheaper to produce than corn.
Market experts say all signs point to a sharp decline in overall U.S. corn seeding this spring, which could spell a significant tightening of supplies that would resonate at home and abroad, impacting everyone from consumers to cattle feeders.
(28 March 2008)
Now Jamie Oliver wants Britain on a wartime diet
Owen Gibson, The Guardian
Inspired by the second world war era Ministry of Food, Jamie Oliver has promised to do for all of us what he did for schoolchildren’s eating habits.
Starting in the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham, Oliver said he would take inspiration from the Ministry of Food’s campaign to encourage families to Dig For Victory, grow their own food and make the most of their wartime rations.
“We spend over £2bn a year on ready meals, and that’s not even counting junk food and takeaways,” said Oliver. “Millions of people up and down the country are really busy, they’re on tight budgets, and no one has bothered to teach them how to cook.
(29 March 2008)
Back to the backyard: the answer to peak oil (Podcast)
Phil Stubbs, Razors Edge (Australia)
While many Sydneysiders escaped the big city over Easter, a national permaculture conference was held with people lining up to learn about innovative ways of farming and backyard gardening.
A key speaker at the Australian Permaculture Convergence was the co-founder of permaculture, David Holmgren. David originally developed the concept during the oil crisis of the 1970’s.
Now with peak oil, he says permaculture is more relevant than ever. Environment reporter Phil Stubbs caught up with him at the conference.
(29 March 2008)
We left it all to be farmers
Laurie Bostic and Kim Martin, Dallas News
According to The New York Times, more and more young adults, tired of just reading about organic food and sustainable farming, are heading out to the land to make a go of it themselves. Unlike the baby boomer back-to-the-land-ers, today’s fresh-faced farmer wannabes actually have a decent shot at making a living, thanks to cultural and economic changes that have created a market for locally grown produce from small farms.
We say: Come on in; the farming’s fine.
We left our jobs as engineers and went into business together, establishing a Rockwall County farm that grows flowers, herbs and produce for the Dallas-area market. We find the work to be both extremely hard and fantastically rewarding.
We started out primarily as specialty cut-flower growers with a small percentage of total planting space in vegetable and herb crops. But due to the overwhelming demand for local, fresh, healthy food, we have done a complete turnaround.
(30 March 2008)
Contributor Jeffrey J. Brown writes:
This is an interesting case history. I view these small farms on the edges of cities as win/win/win propositions: (1) They make business sense; (2) They will provide a source of food close to major population centers and (3) They will provide critically needed jobs, as we transition from an economy focused on meeting wants to one focused on meeting needs. My long time advice: ELP Plan (April, 2007)
