Mass crop failures expected in England

Half of the potato crop is expected to fail as it cannot be irrigated, and even crops that are usually drought-tolerant, such as maize, have been failing.

The group was told “irrigation options are diminishing with reservoirs being emptied fast”, and losses of 10-50% are expected for crops including carrots, onions, sugar beet, apples and hops. Milk production is also down nationally because of a lack of food for cows, and wildfires are putting large areas of farmland at risk.

#uk #FoodPrices

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/12/mass-crop-failures-expected-in-england-as-farmers-demand-hosepipe-bans

The losses are catastrophic in every direction. Italy: extreme drought

Massimo Saronni walks across his rice field, each step a loud crunch. This field should be flooded with water, flourishing with four-foot emerald green blades and golden rice panicles. Instead, the plants have taken on a yellow-brown tinge and the soil has hardened from lack of rain. Small patches of survivors dot the field, but they only reach his ankle.

“These crops are seriously damaged. They haven’t had water, so they’re not going to make it,” says Saronni, who has worked as a rice farmer for over 30 years. He cultivates different rice varieties, including carnaroli, a high-starch rice prized in Italian cuisine for the creamy risotto it makes.

Northern Italy is suffering from spiking temperatures and its worst drought in more than 70 years.

Italy is the biggest producer of rice in the European Union—accounting for over half of its total production—and importers of Italian rice will surely feel the pinch.

#eu #rice #italy #FoodPrices

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/extreme-drought-threatens-italy-rice-crops-and-its-beloved-risotto

India has banned wheat exports to protect domestic prices.

Here's why this is a really big deal as we enter full on #FoodWars. Top wheat producers are being hit across the board:

#1 China. (also #1 consumer!)
#2 India. (and now exports are banned.)
#3 Russia (#1 exporter — but Black Sea shipping is affected, and sanctions stop some buyers)
#4 USA (terrible season, drought)
#5 France (drought has severely impacted yields)
#6 Canada (spotty harvest so far)
#7 Germany (drought has severely impacted yields - some est. 50%)
#10 Ukraine

It is these nations that the rest of the world upon for their bread. And bear in mind some major wheat exporters like Kazakhstan have banned wheat/flour exports. Supplies are getting tight and countries are acting defensively. No relief in sight as harvests are looking bad across Northern hemisphere and things are off to poor start in S. America.

Stock up and keep growing food!

#wheat #FoodPrices

🚨 Canada: wheat stocks down 38% year over year.

#canada #FoodPrices #wheat

Wheat jumps over 4% on Black Sea supply concerns, corn firm

Chicago wheat rose over 4% on Monday on concerns a flare-up in the Russia-Ukraine conflict could create new threats to grain shipments from the Black Sea region

Corn rose on expectations of smaller crops in the U.S. and Europe.

#wheat #FoodPrices

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/grains-wheat-jumps-over-4-on-black-sea-supply-concerns-corn-firm

Empty Shelves as Inflation Leaves Products Unprofitable

“Not only Mars [who worked hand in hand with Rockefeller Foundation on "Reset the Table”], but also Coca Cola [WEF partner] or Procter & Gamble [WEF Partner] are currently trying to ride the wave of inflation with excessive price demands in order to increase their returns,” a spokesman for the Edaka chain of supermarkets claimed.

The official went on to claim that a number of major companies have now halted deliveries to the chain, something that they alleged is being used to put pressure on supermarkets.

[IceAgeFarmer: the Rockefeller/WEF partners are squeezing you as hard as they can.]

——

Products ranging from Kellogg’s cornflakes to Coca Cola have disappeared from supermarkets throughout Germany, with many shops being left with empty shelves as products become simply unprofitable to sell due to differentials in inflation.

It comes as overall inflation hit 10% in the country in September, with EU-wide inflation for the month falling just short of 11% as a result of the ongoing #EnergyCrisis, which has in turn hiked the cost of food and other essential goods.

Retailers in the country however have strongly resisted this, with one supermarket chain in the country going so far as to accuse major companies of “price gouging” and “usury”.

“The situation in the industry is critical to catastrophic,” Federal Association of the Food Industry general manager Christoph Minhoff remarked regarding the feud, which has seen some individual rows even reportedly ending up in court as companies are unable to come to a compromise.

As a result of these ongoing hostilities between supermarkets and producers, a wide variety of well-known brands have disappeared from supermarkets throughout Germany, leaving many shops with empty shelves.

The likes of Coca Cola, Pepsi, Snickers, Kellogg’s Cornflakes, Milka Chocolate, Ritter Sport chocolate, Wrigley’s chewing gum, along with many other products ranging from mayonnaise to pet food have all been affected, though availability reportedly varies between supermarket chains.

#FoodPrices #FoodShortage #Retail

(source)

U.S. winter wheat farmers plant into dust as Plains drought persists

"It's sort of a grim situation," said Kent Winter, who farms in Andale, Kansas, outside Wichita. He said he normally seeds by mid-October but has yet to plant any.

[ IceAgeFarmer note: I have never before seen #wheat trending on twitter … ]

The 2023 U.S. hard red winter wheat crop is already being hobbled by drought in the heart of the southern Plains, wheat experts said.

Planting plans may be scaled back in the U.S. breadbasket despite historically high prices for this time of year, reflecting rising global demand and thin world wheat supplies projected to end the 2022/23 marketing year at a six-year low. The tight supplies have been exacerbated as the conflict in Ukraine has disrupted grain exports from the Black Sea region.

The drought threatens Kansas, the top winter wheat growing state, and Oklahoma in two ways: discouraging farmers who have not yet planted from trying, while threatening crops already in the ground from developing properly.

#wheat #FoodPrices

https://news.yahoo.com/u-winter-wheat-farmers-plant-101038266.html

Indonesia is stockpiling food RAPIDLY to weather this food crisis.

Is your nation? And if not: Are you? How is the LOCAL food system in your community?
-
“Under a new presidential regulation, which took effect Oct. 24, Bapanas with the help of state-owned enterprises plans to secure stocks of 11 staple foods, such as rice, corn, soybeans, shallots, chili, sugar for household, cooking oil, as well as some meat and fish.”

Indonesia is striving to reach 1.2 million tonnes of rice reserves by the end of the year, enough to meet 3.9% of domestic demand, as it battles inflation.

#FoodPrices

https://www.world-grain.com/articles/17664-indonesia-building-rice-stocks-amid-inflation