Those forces may well be in play, but much of North America has been in a state of severe drought this summer. There's a hay shortage because the grass didn't grow. Our pastures were dead brown a month ago, though they have recovered now that the temperatures are down and the morning dew is heavy each day. We've had about an inch of rain total in the past ten weeks or more, which is something like 80-90% less than normal, and the temperatures have been above 90°F more days than not, with probably a record number touching or exceeding 100°F.
That may well be global climate change at work, though I do remember similar summers in my lifetime. Most particularly 1988, and also (I think) 1954. For a while they were comparing this year to 2006 but we have now far exceeded the high temperatures and low rainfall of that year. If next year is similar, then we really do have a new problem.
There are other pressures on the price of some feed. Corn is higher because it's in demand for things other than feed, such as ethanol production (fuel additive or complete substitute.) This year's corn crop is going to be greatly reduced. It remains to be seen what happens to soybeans, which may pull out of it if we start getting regular small amounts of rain now.
As far as the world food supply goes, if the wealthier nations just stop using grains and legumes as feed for meat animals, our ability to feed populations will increase by perhaps two orders of magnitude. Other problems than food supply would appear first. Clean fresh water is already getting tight.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-08-20 07:55 pm (UTC)That may well be global climate change at work, though I do remember similar summers in my lifetime. Most particularly 1988, and also (I think) 1954. For a while they were comparing this year to 2006 but we have now far exceeded the high temperatures and low rainfall of that year. If next year is similar, then we really do have a new problem.
There are other pressures on the price of some feed. Corn is higher because it's in demand for things other than feed, such as ethanol production (fuel additive or complete substitute.) This year's corn crop is going to be greatly reduced. It remains to be seen what happens to soybeans, which may pull out of it if we start getting regular small amounts of rain now.
As far as the world food supply goes, if the wealthier nations just stop using grains and legumes as feed for meat animals, our ability to feed populations will increase by perhaps two orders of magnitude. Other problems than food supply would appear first. Clean fresh water is already getting tight.