Sowing the Seeds of Self-Reliance for Forty Years
North Dakota Farmers
in Trouble BEFORE Floods
26 April, 1997
by Geri Guidetti
All contents copyright © 1997, Geri Guidetti. All rights reserved.
________________________________________
Over the next few weeks, the magnitude of the flood tragedy in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota is going to really hit home. Make no mistake about it: this has been catastrophic for the residents of these states, and it will result in huge crop losses in this country. You may recall from my April 17 Update that the Wall Street Journal quoted commodities analysts' estimates that 10-15 percent of premium-grade red winter wheat may have been lost to the hard freeze in the Great Plains two weeks ago and that the farmers of North Dakota and Minnesota would be under pressure to plant more wheat this season.
Not only are these farmers facing mind-numbing challenges when the water finally recedes from their land, but they were in big trouble BEFORE the Red River ever left its banks! According to North Dakota Commissioner of Agriculture, Roger Johnson, North Dakota farmers were experiencing cash flow problems and finding it difficult to obtain credit for funding this year's farm operations. He cited the following: "The continual onslaught of harsh weather patterns; a marked increase in crop disease and pest problems; high input costs (fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides, etc.); lower market prices for crops harvested [are hurting farmers]." He noted that, "Gross farm income had increased 40% in North Dakota since 1990, but farm expenses had only increased 53%. Borrowing had increased 100% in the same period. Net farm income had fallen "from a per farm average of $50,091 in 1993 to just $35,513 in 1996," Johnson said, concluding, "This is a very disturbing trend."
Disturbing indeed. Add this past week's flood insults to their existing, financial injuries, and it would be entirely feasible, understandable-- even probable -- that many will not be able/choose to plant. And the situations of farmers in Minnesota and South Dakota are not much better. These are the durum wheat (pasta wheat) states. As the Red River runs north into Manitoba and beyond, today, similar nightmares are playing themselves out for residents and farmers in Canada. We import a lot of wheat from Canada. Our neighbor to the north has had its own winter weather extremes this year, too. The overall global wheat supply situation bears careful watching this year. Keep your ears to the ground. It won't make the headlines.
Store owners that retail wheat and other grains tell me their supply brokers are telling them that supplies are low, that there is some difficulty in filling their wholesale orders. This is the pressure I feared we'd begin to feel as we tap into our already low ending stocks before this year's harvests are in. I suspect we should begin to see price increases for wheat and wheat products shortly. Supply and demand. Market forces will reduce consumption.
On a brighter note, I ask some months ago if there was a need for a book of recipes for using our stored wheat berries, bulgur, flours, etc. The E-mail response was overwhelmingly affirmative "as long as it is cheap." I found such basic recipes lacking when I first started storing food twenty some odd years ago. I remember saying, "Okay, I have the wheat. Now what do I do with it?" I have accumulated a lot of good information since that time, and I've finished putting together a collection. E-mail me for a table of contents if you are interested.
If you have some extra space in your garden this spring or fall, you might want to try growing, harvesting and processing some wheat. Call your local extension agent to see which varieties are suitable for your area. The skills you develop may prove very handy in the future...Geri Guidetti, The Ark Institute
________________________________________
E-mail for information: arkinstitute@aol.com
This article may be reprinted IF my copyright and Sig. File are reprinted intact.
All contents copyright © 1997, Geri Guidetti. All rights reserved.
Revised: 26 Apr 97
Welcome to The Ark Institute ®
