“Dictators stay in power until there are food riots” is what every sociologist I know tells me.
I hope the “riots” are in the form of voting.
USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
91–100 of 187 posts
Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
#92It will only get worse for the next generation as the aquafers are continuing to be depleted.
Is anyone actually irrigating wheat?? Edit: I'm being downvoted because someone found a source that says 3% of winter wheat in Montana is irrigated. My point still stands, while yes some percentage of wheat is irrigated it is extremely uncommon.
No.
Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
#93Same region all the new data centers are being built. Unfortunately, humans can't eat data like they can wheat.
This doesn't have anything to do with data centres.
Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
#94Title claims "due to plains drought" but the article text largely attributes this to increased planting of soy for its lower fertilizer requirements (related to Strait of Hormuz).
Wheat isn’t grown in the same places that beans grow.
If you can, you’re rotating beans and corn every year. (“Roundup ready” of course)
Wheat is on the marginal drier land. Not that they couldn’t plant wheat there but beans are way more profitable and so they don’t.
The plains is by definition more arid, marginal land a step up from pasture/grazing.
A lot of traditional wheat/sunflower/barley/oats has gone over to beans and corn bc roundup and GMO.
On my family’s farm I don’t remember the last time we had wheat crop but that was our staple for like 50 years.
Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
Chinese citizens aren't the target audience. The US administration is. This article is basically saying "please, Mr President, get China to buy more of our agricultural goods". The "when" of media coverage is just as important as the "what" and the "when" here is while the president is currently in China. If you want to think that's irrelevant, that's a choice I guess.
I'm 45, grew up on a farm and I have childhood memories of my dad looking forward to the crop reports because those would have such an enormous effect on market prices. If this was meant to manipulate Trump into specific behavior, it is a masterful long play seeing as how this report is published in roughly the same way for over 50 years.
We're not reading the crop report. We're reading an article written using the crop report. Those are two very different things.
I'm honestly scratching my head over here because this is bordering on being deliberately obtuse. Chinese purchases of US agricultural products is a high-level plank of any US-China trade deal and a very likely agenda item on any trade summit.
This also isn't new. What do you think trade agreements are, exactly? My favorite example is a US trade dispute with Australian wheat producers in the 2000s. US wheat is subsidized. Australian wheat basically isn't but is still cheaper. So, to avoid WTO repercussions, the US said Australian wheat was a biohazard risk and that's why it couldn't be imported.
This dispute was ultimately resolved as part of a wider agreement that created a new visa (E3) specifically for Australians wanting to work in the US.
Tariffs too are a tool of and a bargaining chip in trade agreements.
Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
Has the USA's potash supply been reduced due to strained relations with Canada? They are our top supplier, by far.
Yes. Despite what others have said, yes. But, in general, because of the current global dynamics, fertilizer is more expensive wherever you're going to be getting it from. It just doesn't help that the US has picked a trade war with all allies at the same time, while also engaging in real wars that disrupt global supply chains of critical resources.
It shocks me when I realize it's only been 16/48 of his term. We still have 2/3rds to go.
Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
#97Title claims "due to plains drought" but the article text largely attributes this to increased planting of soy for its lower fertilizer requirements (related to Strait of Hormuz).
Maybe a positive. Soy Beans are more healthy. So lower fertilizer demand, and healthier produce, could be a net positive. Kind of like an oil shortage is driving an increase in EVs and renewable energy. Finally waking up the US that oil dependence is a National Security issue that renewables are possible solution for. That renewables aren't the 'woke' enemy, but a valid technical option. So, maybe a net positive.
Finally waking up the US that oil dependence is a National Security issue
Even worse, oil dependence is a competitive liability --- not an advantage.
AI is energy intensive. And more expensive, carbon based based energy is a competitive disadvantage.
A competitive disadvantage in AI is an economic issue --- which ultimately translates into a National Security issue.
China leadership understands this. USA leadership is clueless.
Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
#98Title claims "due to plains drought" but the article text largely attributes this to increased planting of soy for its lower fertilizer requirements (related to Strait of Hormuz).
Has the USA's potash supply been reduced due to strained relations with Canada? They are our top supplier, by far.
A lot of crops need nitrogen. What has been impacted by Trump's Iran war is the supply of Urea through the Straight of Hormuz.
If the closure persists then no doubt other sources can ramp up to fill the void, but it's going to be too late for this season. Some Asian farmers have already chosen not to bother planting rice crops since the increase in fertilizer (urea) cost has meant they'd be losing money.
Fuel prices are also impacting imported produce prices.
Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Plants require a ton of desalinated water and Animals who eat plants as such require desalinated water too. There are countries in middle east like UAE, Saudi arabia etc. which rely on desalination but they are relying it for the clean drinking water, not for the food generation. They import almost 90% of their food iirc. The amount of energy required to desalinate all water and the environmental impacts to get that…
The middle east tends to import hay and food for their livestock from other countries rather than growing it locally. https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/commodities/forage-and-hay https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/QAT/yea...
Alfalfa/hay uses so much water that cultivation of it is banned in Saudi Arabia. They import large amounts from the US - basically we're exporting water.
Re: USDA Projects Smallest US Wheat Harvest Since 1972 Due to Plains Drought
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
> growers expanded plantings of soybeans A year ago China stopped buying soybeans from the US is seems ("China Bought $12.6 Billion in U.S. Soybeans Last Year. Now, It’s $0." - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/business/china-soybean-sa... ), was that resumed, or who are all these new soybeans going to? Is it all for national use instead of export?
When China buys from someone else (Brazil - nobody else has significant soy bean surplus) that means whoever was buying from that someone else now needs to go to the US. The US also uses a lot of soy beans internally. Prices are down, but farmers are still selling soybeans and with careful management are making money.
Soybeans are a pretty stellar food for protein per calorie.
And to stop misinformation in its tracks:
> A March 2021 meta-analysis published in Reproductive Toxicology concluded that neither soy protein nor isoflavone intake significantly affects reproductive hormone levels in men. Analyzing data from 41 studies and 1,753 participants, the researchers found no statistically significant effects on testosterone or estrogen regardless of intake dose or duration.
so Gemini says, link - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33383165/