3 Responses to August, 1934 Brought Almost 100% Crop Failure

1. Gail Combs says:

   August 9, 2014 at 10:13 pm

   This is why the USA came up with a national grain reserve.

   But a grain reserve does not allow grain traders and speculators to make huge profits off of starving desperate people so the Clinton admin., using a farm bill developed under Reagan by a Cargill VP, did away with US grain reserves.

   Congressional RecordFreedom to Fail Farm bill of 1996

   Mr. President, as much as I hate to recognize this, this is the fourth anniversary of the passage by the House and the Senate of the “freedom to fail” bill.

   On this date in 1996, both houses of Congress approved a new farm bill, described then as “the most sweeping change in agriculture since the Depression. It would get rid of government subsidies to farmers over the next seven years.”

   The bill has made sweeping changes in agriculture–it has produced one of the worst economic crises that rural American has ever experienced. Thanks to the Freedom to Farm, or as I call it the Freedom to Fail Act, tens of thousands of farm families are in jeopardy of losing their livelihoods and life savings.

   The Freedom to Farm bill is not saving tax payers money, in fact we have spent $19 billion more in the first 4 years of the 1996 farm bill than was supposed to be spent through the 7 year life of the law.

   However, what has resulted is the precipitous loss of family farmers….

   Want Food Security? Bring Back a National Grain Reserve

   Council on Foreign Relations: How Goldman Sachs Created the Food Crisis

   “Panic Buying” in the Grain Markets
   The agricultural sector was one of the areas we found most attractive in 2007. We expect that will remain the case….
   In summary, we have record low grain inventories globally as we move into a new crop year. We have demand growing strongly. Which means that going forward even small crop failures are going to drive grain prices to record levels. As an investor, we continue to find these long term trends – and this niche – very attractive.

   Recently there have been increased calls for the development of a U.S. or international grain reserve to provide priority access to food supplies for Humanitarian needs. The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA) strongly advise against this concept..Stock reserves have a documented depressing effect on prices… and resulted in less aggressive market bidding for the grains.” July 22, 2008 letter to President Bush (wwwDOT)naega.org/images/pdf/grain_reserves_for_food_aid.pdf

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2. darrylb says:

   August 10, 2014 at 12:19 am

   Gail, you are quite amazing in that you are a walking source of knowledge,—therefore I like to read and often copy what you have written.
   Now that I have kissed up, I am asking a favor.
   Could you rewrite the few lines you did previously about C3 type plants and how CO2 benefits them in such a way that they need less water.
   If you read this—-Thanks!
   BTW- May I ask what your background is that gives you such a broad knowledge base?

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   • tom0mason says:

     August 10, 2014 at 4:56 am

     +1

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