Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Besides unpredictable climates the main reason for increasing shortages is 
increasing populations which raises demand. Countries such as China with a 
growing middle class want more meat which puts even more pressure on grain 
prices. None of this can work in reverse, barring an extinction event. I 
didn't say that.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 2/14/2011 at 9:42 PM John D'hondt wrote:

>Hi Liz,
>Timing of price increases is all good and well. The main reason is that
>many
>of the biggest grain producers in the world have seen disastrous crop
>failures in the recent past and thus grain prices are going up.
>I do think though that we could very well see that next seasons crops will
>do no better and thus that prices will keep going up and up. My reason for
>thinking this is that the reasons for crop failures will not likely abate,
>like extreme weather caused by climate change and SDS or sudden death
>syndrome caused by gm and glyphosate spraying. It should get worse if
>anything.
>Whether that will save family farms I sincerely don't know.
>But I think you are right in your conclusion that we all better start
>growing more of our own.
>john
>
>
>> Interesting info about the timing of price increases. I hadn't thought
>> about a chicken's lifespan entering into that, for example. I'm also
>glad
>> if farmers are better able to pay down their loans. That by itself may
>> slow the invasion of corporate agriculture into family farms. On the
>other
>> hand, any time a profit appears on the horizon, you can be certain
>people
>> with no interest in the work itself, but looking only to get rich out of
>> it, will come sniffing around. We don't need any more agribusiness
>driven
>> only by the bottom line.
>>
>> Take-home message? Get out there and grow more of your own. And in
>> addition to that, make an effort to find more local growers where you
>can
>> buy things you aren't able or ready yet to grow yourself. Not everyone
>has
>> to grow everything. I buy blueberries every year from a friend rather
>than
>> grow my own. Helps to support him, and frees up my land to grow other
>> things. He buys my blackberries in return.
>>
>> Liz
>>