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USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

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Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

#51

Post by andsoitis »

dakolli wrote: post #12
giantg2 wrote: post #2

It will only get worse for the next generation as the aquafers are continuing to be depleted.

we live in a closed greenhouse system, the water just doesn't just disappear and most of the Earth is covered in it. Plenty of countries completely rely on desalination already, I think we'll be fine. I'm much more concerned about everyone becoming a moron from using AI. edit: cloud seeding too.

> Plenty of countries completely rely on desalination already

There are only 3 countries that do: Bahamas, Maldives, and Malta.

Other countries that depend heavily, but not completely: Qatar, Kuwait, UAE.

Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

#52

Post by bluGill »

jeffbee wrote: post #43
Jgrubb wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"All the new data centers" are being built everywhere.

Largely not. Data center people aren't idiots. They site their projects in places with water and power, or if not power then at least gas. I don't think you'd be able to point out a project that actually exists and is competing for a scarce local water resource.

Data centers don't use much water on the scale of things. The numbers look big in isolation, but most people have no idea how much water a country really needs and isolating the numbers makes data centers look bad.

Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

#53

Post by qrios »

eightysixfour wrote: post #13

Western hay prices are as much as double what they were last year for feed: https://www.reddit.com/r/homestead/comments/1ta64d0/breaking...

When I read this thread, "Interstellar" immediately comes to mind.

Thanks for sharing!

Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

#54

Post by 9rx »

bluGill wrote: post #46
fullstop wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps someone in the industry can chime in, but I had read that the soybeans that the US primarily grows and previously sold to China were used for pig feed. In my mind I pictured it like "cow corn" -- humans technically can eat it, but it's chewy and not very good. Are there different grades of soybean?

There are different grades with different properties. However very few are consumed by humans. When sold for humans it is called edamame. The most common use is crush the beans, and collect the oil feeding the rest to pigs. If you read the ingredients at the grocery store, soy bean oil comes up a lot. Soy bean oil is also often used in diesel engines after processing.

> When sold for humans it is called edamame.

Edamame is limited to special varieties that are harvested before ripening, which isn't the soybeans those supplanting wheat will be growing. You're probably thinking of tofu, natto, or something in that vein.

Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

#55

Post by fullstop »

bluGill wrote: post #46
fullstop wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps someone in the industry can chime in, but I had read that the soybeans that the US primarily grows and previously sold to China were used for pig feed. In my mind I pictured it like "cow corn" -- humans technically can eat it, but it's chewy and not very good. Are there different grades of soybean?

There are different grades with different properties. However very few are consumed by humans. When sold for humans it is called edamame. The most common use is crush the beans, and collect the oil feeding the rest to pigs. If you read the ingredients at the grocery store, soy bean oil comes up a lot. Soy bean oil is also often used in diesel engines after processing.

My wife couldn't understand why I didn't care for edamame. After 40+ years on this planet I finally figured out that I really struggle to digest soy protein. They sneak that stuff in everywhere, but I do my best to avoid it.

Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

#56

Post by walthamstow »

bluGill wrote: post #46
fullstop wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps someone in the industry can chime in, but I had read that the soybeans that the US primarily grows and previously sold to China were used for pig feed. In my mind I pictured it like "cow corn" -- humans technically can eat it, but it's chewy and not very good. Are there different grades of soybean?

There are different grades with different properties. However very few are consumed by humans. When sold for humans it is called edamame. The most common use is crush the beans, and collect the oil feeding the rest to pigs. If you read the ingredients at the grocery store, soy bean oil comes up a lot. Soy bean oil is also often used in diesel engines after processing.

> When sold for humans it is called edamame.

or tofu, soy sauce, miso, natto, tianmianjiang, a thousand other things made from soybeans

Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

#57

Post by tekla »

datsci_est_2015 wrote: post #42
mothballed wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The government made it literally the only way to claim much of the land out west[]. They require that you come up with an agricultural land including plan for watering crops on that acreage in order to claim the land. And you're required to execute the plan to get the deed. In fact, this is the only remaining way I know of to more or less 'homestead' federal land in a way that results in a permanent deed. The rest of…

Is this relevant in 2026? Are people still claiming land via the 1877 Desert Land Act?

Do you think laws go away just because they're old?

The Colorado River compact came into effect in 1922 and I'm almost surprised literal fist fights haven't erupted over it during the modern negotiations.

Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

#58

Post by kipchak »

embedding-shape wrote: post #36
cogman10 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I expect other nations are still consuming US soybeans. China stopped because it was particularly negatively targeted by US tariff policy. But make no mistake, it has caused problems for farmers. The report from my small hometown farmers is that everything, except for beef, is down right now while the prices of inputs like fertilizer are high. Some of the farmers in my hometown have already sold their land to megacor…

> I expect other nations are still consuming US soybeans But who? Compared to 2024, 2025 had almost half soybean exports it seems ( https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/commodities/soybeans ), I'm guessing most of the difference was China basically stopped buying soybeans. But it's a huge difference, yet production seems to be ramping up? I don't understand why they'd do that when the exports are going down?

There's a risk of food prices increasing across the board and shortages in poorer countries if fertilizer exports stay restricted, or in other words increased demand for soybeans in the later half of 2026.

Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought

#59

Post by ChrisRR »

vel0city wrote: post #27
dakolli wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

we live in a closed greenhouse system, the water just doesn't just disappear and most of the Earth is covered in it. Plenty of countries completely rely on desalination already, I think we'll be fine. I'm much more concerned about everyone becoming a moron from using AI. edit: cloud seeding too.

Desalination isn't really much of an option for deeper inland and much higher than sea level areas. Tell me, which ocean is Dodge City KS going to pull from?

Global warming will bring the sea to them
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