End of the American
Dream

It is too early
to panic, but if there is not a major change in the weather very
soon we could be looking at widespread crop failures throughout
the United States this summer. Record heat and crippling drought
are absolutely devastating crops from coast to coast. Unfortunately,
this unprecedented heat wave just continues to keep going and record
high temperatures continue to scorch much of the central United
States. In fact, more
than 2,000 record high temperatures have been matched or broken
in the past week alone. Not only that, but the lack of rainfall
nationally has caused drought
conditions from coast to coast. If temperatures continue to
stay this high and we don’t start seeing more rain, farmers and
ranchers all over the nation are going to be absolutely devastated.
So what happens if we do see widespread crop failures throughout
the United States? That is a question that is frightening to think
about.

Right now is
an absolutely crucial period for corn. It is time for pollination
and rainfall is desperately needed. The following is from an article
recently posted on agweb.com….

With
some parts of Indiana now nearing a month without significant
rainfall and the critical pollination phase of corn either already
started or about to begin, large crop losses appear likely for
some farmers.

The U.S. Department
of Agriculture had been expecting a record corn harvest this year,
but now the outlook is rapidly changing. The Department of Agriculture
now says that 22
percent of all U.S. corn fields are in poor condition, and that
number could rise significantly unless current weather patterns
change.

Sadly, the
corn in some areas of the country may already have been permanently
damaged according to the
Washington Post….

Some
growers are already reporting damage to corn, which is at a critical
pollination stage. In some areas, the corn already has been damaged
to the point that rain may not be enough to salvage the crop,
Telvent DTN analyst John Sanow said.

He and
other analysts have lowered their yield estimates to an average
of about 150 bushels per acre or less. That compares with the
U.S. Agriculture Department’s June estimate of 166 bushels per
acre.

Meanwhile,
corn supplies are dropping at a rate not seen in many years. The
following is from croplife.com….

Corn
supplies in the U.S. are declining at the fastest pace since 1996
as
a Midwest heat wave damages the world’s largest harvest for
a third consecutive year.

Bloomberg
News reports that stockpiles were probably 3.168 billion bushels
(80.47 million metric tons) on June 1, 47% less than on March
1

So what does
all of this mean?

It means that
food prices are going to rise.

Over the last
month, the price of corn is up about 27
percent.

The price of
wheat is also soaring. The price of September wheat is up about
26
percent since the beginning of June.

So is there
hope that things can be turned around?

Unfortunately,
things look quite bleak at this point. According to the
Washington Post, the outlook for the rest of the growing season
is very ominous….

“Based
on the drought outlook, the potential for further degradation
is very high, and the potential to reach exceptional levels of
drought – where there are major crop failures – is very high,”
said Matthew Rosencrans, a Weather Service meteorologist. “The
climate signals we are looking at right now don’t correlate with
wetness in that region.”

Jay Armstrong,
owner and operator of Armstong Farms in Kansas, flew his small
plane over a portion of the affected area and landed with the
impression that the potential damage is far worse than is commonly
understood.

“At this
time of year, when you look down in a place like Indiana or Illinois,
you should see just lush green fields,” Armstrong said. “I saw
bare soil. I just thought to myself, the market has no idea what’s
coming.”

Those are frightening
words.

Nobody wants
to hear about the possibility of “major crop failures” or that “the
market has no ideas what’s coming”.

Ranchers are
being absolutely devastated by this hot, dry weather as well. The
following comes from a comment that was posted on one of my recent
articles by a reader identified as Cinderella Man who works
in the business….

As of
6/27/12 at the Torrington WY auction 2,248 head sold in one day.
Usually only a couple hundred sell at a time. Whats happening
is the ranchers are trying to sell when the price is high, and
they know that hay is going to be expensive in the fall. We already
see ranchers from WY coming up here looking for hay. Let me put
it to you this way: Last night I went with my Dad to his hayfield
and he said he would be lucky if he got a third of the hay he
got last year! Second I work in the feed and mineral supply business
and I have seen grain feed sales through the roof. Same goes for
mineral and lactation supplements. The other day a Hutterite colony
bought 25 tons of grain distillers to feed their sheep. Everywhere
south of us is dry and we are catching up. People are scrambling
to find corn and my elevator is one of the last places that have
it. Going back to the minerals and supplements the cows are on
poor grass and they have baby calves to feed. They go dry and
cant produce milk for them so a rancher has to buy minerals and
supplements to get the mama cow to produce milk. Sales have been
soaring. You add it all up and you can only come up with the conclusion
that we are in SERIOUS TROUBLE this year and I dont know how small
producers like my family are going to weather this. All I can
say is the ones who were in glee at Texas’s plight last year and
crying in their beers right now.

If this continues,
we won’t just see corn and wheat become much more expensive.

We will also
see the price of meat go through the roof as well.

This is not
welcome news at a time when the economy is already in really
bad shape and millions of families are barely
making it from month to month.

So what do
you think about all of this? Do you live in an area of the country
that has been affected by this weather? What do you think will happen
if we see widespread crop failures throughout the United States?

Reprinted
with permission from End
of the American Dream.

July
5, 2012

Copyright
© 2012 End
of the American Dream