World food shortage

[2020hindsight]

I read somewhere that Australia only spends $50k on keeping the parasite out while NZ spends 750k on keeping it out of the south island. Sounds stupid when you think how much money this country wastes. This should be given priority and a whole lot of funding.This is not the issue to neglect.

so moxjo, I take it that the parasite is in North Island but not South (?)
Sounds like it's only a matter of time before we get it as well

But I'd sure as hell agree with you (and nc et al ) i.e. we should be spending more than we do, you'd think . Hell they spend $50k on a party in Canberra , don't they?

Here's an old post from a year ago..

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/03/30/1885584.htm
Australian honey may be in danger from bee parasite
Posted Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:17pm AEST

The Australian honey industry fears a bee parasite that is spreading rapidly through New Zealand could arrive in Australia at any time.

Australia is the only continent free of the varroa mite.

The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation has just funded a fact-finding tour of New Zealand, to study the impacts on apiarists.

Tour member and Tasmanian beekeeper Julian Woolfhagen says New Zealand has been unable to contain varroa.

He says it is almost certain the parasite will accidentally arrive in Australia, which will devastate the industry.

"It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when we're going to get it," he said.

"How long we can delay that is a key, because quite frankly with the Australian honey industry, which is a large-scale one by world standards, its economic base is not at all strong."

THis one also 12 months old or so...

http://www.abc.net.au/rural/telegraph/content/2006/s1888384.htm
Bee Parasite
By Tara Vickers
Tuesday, 03/04/2007

Australian bee keepers have returned from a fact-finding tour to New Zealand to learn about a parasite which has the potential to damage Australia's disease-free honey bee industry.

Australian bee kepers met with New Zealand apiarists to discover how the varroa mite is wreacking havoc with the New Zealand bee and honey industry.

In New Zealand, 70 000 hives have already been lost after the bee arrived a few years earlier. The varroa mite has taken over every continent except Australia where the industry is worth $65 million.

President of the Tasmanian bee keepers Association Julian Woolfhagen attended the tour and says he has no doubt the mite will arrive in Australia.

 

[moXJO]

so moxjo, I take it that the parasite is in North Island but not South (?)
Sounds like it's only a matter of time before we get it as well

Yes it invaded the North, and now spending big $ to keep it out of South (not sure if it is there yet). I think every country has done the same thing. Ignore it till it arrives and causes millions of damage. It’s not just the honey industry either. Considering how much the price of food will shoot up I'm surprised about the lack of funding and media attention. We send millions of $ in overseas aid, yet something that could threaten starvation around the globe in poorer countries due to food price rising is given very little attention. At least the Aus apiarists might be breeding bees that are not affected as much (Russian strain possibly)

Just seems we could spend a lot more then we do on a longer term solution. Not wait for the rest of the world to hopefully come up with an idea.

 

[2020hindsight]

1. Considering how much the price of food will shoot up I'm surprised about the lack of funding and media attention. We send millions of $ in overseas aid, yet something that could threaten starvation around the globe in poorer countries due to food price rising is given very little attention.

2. At least the Aus apiarists might be breeding bees that are not affected as much (Russian strain possibly)

thanks moxjo
1. totally agree - sheesh. Given proper weighting, it deserves to be mentioned in tonight's Budget (you'd think).

2. Maybe that explains all those emails I keep getting from some "Russian Honey"

 

[Green08]

This has not been touched on for some time.

Anyone have a little extra tucked away in the pantry or seriously engaging in permaculture? Don't forget your pet.

What are your boy/girl scout skills like? cooking, cleanliness, first aid, knots, camping??

Not being alarmist just looking at things that most take for granted until they HAVE to do something important by force.

 

[roland]

Bees in more trouble than ever after bad winter

MERCED, Calif. – The mysterious 4-year-old crisis of disappearing honeybees is deepening. A quick federal survey indicates a heavy bee die-off this winter, while a new study shows honeybees' pollen and hives laden with pesticides.

Full story here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100324/ap_on_sc/us_food_and_farm_disappearing_bees

I watched a doco a couple of months ago with the Australian Bee Expert (sorry can't remember his name). Along with exporting good ol' Aussie bees to the US, there was a lot of research of the bee mites. Seems like Australia is close to being the only place in the world that have a stable and healthy bee population.

This latest news hasn't pin pointed a cause, but are suspicious of pesticides....

Let's hope our Border Security can keep our Bio Security intact.

 

[mullokintyre]

Not much been talked about on Food shortages of recent times, but a couple of world events need to be taken into consideration.
Firstly,
one of the biggest grain producers, Ukraine, has been effectively taken out of the world market courtesy of the Russians.
Secondly, Russia one of the biggest suppliers of Urea to North America has been taken out of the market. The shortage of Urea and thus basic fertilizers for food production has already been documented on other threads.
Now to add to that, Canada, one of the big five producers of grains, has some issues.
From Zero hedge

The North American agricultural sector could be in for a major shock if Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd's (CP Rail) work stoppage is not resolved in a timely manner because it could spark a shortage of fertilizer and other shipments critical for the spring growing season, according to AP News.
AP News reports more than 3,000 CP Rail conductors, engineers, train, and yard workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference stepped off the job Sunday as the union and CP Rail couldn't strike a deal.
CP Rail is the leading carrier of potash, a potassium-rich salt mined from underground deposits formed from evaporated sea beds millions of years ago, used to support crop development. In prior investor documents, the rail company said it hauls 70% of the potash produced in North America, all from mines in Canada. The railroad also carries fertilizers, including phosphate, urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and anhydrous ammonia.
A disruption of fertilizer shipments could significantly impact US farmers on the cusp of planting season. The work stoppage may exacerbate existing supply chain bottlenecks in North America stemming from COVID. The agricultural sector can't afford any more disruptions as Western economic sanctions on Russia and Belarus, two major fertilizer producers, have unleashed higher prices globally and shortage fears.

And finally, from Agweb comes warnings of drought conditions and disastrous harvest prospects in mid west grain producing states of the US could portent a disastrous winter grain harvest in the North American continent.

March 14 (Reuters) - A worsening drought in the southern U.S. Plains is threatening the region's winter wheat crop just as the Russian invasion of Ukraine dents global supplies.

Some farmers in southwestern Kansas, the top U.S. wheat producing state, have not received much measurable rain or snow since October. Winter wheat is planted in autumn, lays dormant in winter and begins sending up green shoots in spring. Proper soil moisture is critical at this stage for the crop to thrive.

More than half of Kansas was classified as under severe drought or worse as of March 8, the driest conditions since 2018, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. Severe drought is also covering three-quarters of Oklahoma and more than two-thirds of Texas, both of which also are large wheat producers.
Water woes come on top of a freak December wind storm that swept away some topsoil in parts of the U.S. wheat belt, damaging some cropland.

U.S. hard red winter wheat represents nearly half of the country's overall wheat production and is milled mainly for bread flour. A reduced crop could further stoke food inflation that the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said was the highest-ever in February. The FAO's Food Price Index averaged 140.7 points last month, a 20.7% increase from a year earlier and surpassing the 2011 record.

U.S. wheat futures soared to the highest levels in 14 years early last week as the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed two of the world's largest wheat exporters out of the market. That has importing countries scrambling for replacement sources. Meanwhile, the winter wheat crop in China, the world's largest producer of the grain, is expected to be among the worst ever after heavy rainfall delayed planting.

The only good part out of all this is that Australia continues to produce bumper harvests, and there will be plenty of markets paying good prices for the food basics.
Might help to pay off some of that huge debt the various levels of Government has raked up.
Mick

 

[macca]

Not much been talked about on Food shortages of recent times, but a couple of world events need to be taken into consideration.
Firstly,
one of the biggest grain producers, Ukraine, has been effectively taken out of the world market courtesy of the Russians.
Secondly, Russia one of the biggest suppliers of Urea to North America has been taken out of the market. The shortage of Urea and thus basic fertilizers for food production has already been documented on other threads.
Now to add to that, Canada, one of the big five producers of grains, has some issues.
From Zero hedge

And finally, from Agweb comes warnings of drought conditions and disastrous harvest prospects in mid west grain producing states of the US could portent a disastrous winter grain harvest in the North American continent.

The only good part out of all this is that Australia continues to produce bumper harvests, and there will be plenty of markets paying good prices for the food basics.
Might help to pay off some of that huge debt the various levels of Government has raked up.
Mick

I sympathise with those who have been flooded, it would be terrible to watch the water rise into your home, But we tend to forget that on the other side of the ocean they are getting the other side of the coin, heat and drought.

As our understanding of the part that oceans play in our weather improves, hopefully everyone will have a better warning of what to expect in the coming season.

All these satellites and remote reporting devices must help in planning for the future.

 

[wayneL]

They are now several scenarios where world wide critical food shortage could become a reality, the most terrifying of which is a potential nuclear winter.

However there are lots of disruptions which could be disastrous in equal measure, or close to it.

The Mormons, et Al, are onto it, as should y'all be.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Global Macro Update - Mauldin Economics

John Mauldin, Financial Expert, Best-Selling Author, and Editor of Thoughts from the Frontline Investment Newsletter. Offering Financial & Economic Analysis, Research.

www.mauldineconomics.com

• Ukraine
• Food shortages
• Globalisation being pinched
• And Covid not yet played out

Bumpy ride ahead

 

[StockyGuy]

You say food shortage like it's a bad thing. Could be good for some Might help our track and field medal tally at the Olympics.

 

[mullokintyre]

From Zero Hedge
Corn futures have hit 8 bucks a bushel for the first time in nearly 10 years.
There are numerous reasons for this

The global outlook for corn supplies has plunged since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in late February. The war-torn country supplies a fifth of the world's corn and could experience a 50% decline in output this year.

Fertilizer prices are at record highs because of rising natural gas costs and Russia limiting fertilizer exports to 'unfriendly' countries. Russia is one of the biggest exporters globally -- the U.S. just so happens to be a large importer of nitrogen and potash from Russia.

And then there is the issue of diverting Corn to ethanol production.

And the latest development pushing corn prices to the stratosphere is the Biden administration's announcement of emergency measures last week to expand biofuel sales to curb soaring gasoline prices. The problem with this move is that the ethanol industry absorbs a larger share of the corn crop, which would curb supplies to the food industry. So ultimately, it would increase prices.

Secondly,

 

[PZ99]

Might have to tip ASX FOOD in the next comp

 

[greggles]

The coming global food shortage is now unavoidable and may take several years to recover from.

 

[wayneL]

I've said it before on this forum that the Mormons have the right idea (notwithstanding any religious disagreements).

Like them we do have a year supply of non perishables (and no we are definitely not Mormon).

This problem did telegraph itself long before now. Anyone with not some sort of reserve supply food was not listening in my opinion.

 

[Craton]

The

I've said it before on this forum that the Mormons have the right idea (notwithstanding any religious disagreements).

Like them we do have a year supply of non perishables (and no we are definitely not Mormon).

This problem did telegraph itself long before now. Anyone with not some sort of reserve supply food was not listening in my opinion.

For the carnivores, it'll be a sad day if the literal term for larder actually comes back into play.

 

[StockyGuy]

I gather what is perceived as on the horizon is issues with supply of CERTAIN foodstuffs. Touch wood, and God forbid, it doesn't seem normal Aussies and normal Yanks and such like are very close to ACTUALLY having trouble regularly stuffing the standard 8700 kilojoules in some form down their gobs. But, hey, the chance of real catastrophe and black swan is ever present (and increasing a lot since Putin's aggression in Ukraine this year).

As for the less developed areas... well there's always famine and starvation somewhere

 

[JohnDe]

It almost looks like that Putin has planned to destroy Ukraine's food production, and for Russia to take it over.

In 2020 Mrs Nazarenko and her husband Andriy inherited the 400-hectare (1,000-acre) farm, now named Rosa after that founding horse. Early this year they took out a substantial loan to cover fertiliser for the coming spring-wheat crop.

On March 9th, well before they had planted any, Russian troops occupied the village and the couple fled. On March 31st, when the invaders had turned tail, they returned. It was a harsh homecoming. The main farm building was shelled out. Three tractors had been vandalised and their diesel drained. Of their 117 cows, 42 were dead and the rest were roaming fields littered with debris, mines, mortar shells, unexploded cluster bombs and burnt-out trucks. Fifty tonnes of wheat, sunflower seed and rye had been destroyed,

Lukashivka and the villages around it have seen thousands of tonnes of grain destroyed or left to rot; much the same is true throughout the country’s war zones. Russian forces have targeted grain elevators and fertiliser plants, leaving the infrastructure in pieces. The share of last year’s grain harvest still in the country—about 25m tonnes of grain, a lot of it maize (corn)—is stuck there, because Odessa’s ports, through which 98% of the grain exports normally pass, are blockaded. Getting the grain to alternative ports in Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltics is hard. “Before the war Ukraine exported about 5m tonnes of grain a month,” says Mykola Solskiy, the minister for agriculture. “Last month we managed to get 1.1m tonnes out.”

A world grain shortage puts tens of millions at risk

War, extreme weather and export controls are all contributing

www.economist.com

 

[Dona Ferentes]