This year’s world grain harvest

Items in the news
onepence
Posts: 473
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 2:44 pm
Location: Longwood, FL, USA

This year’s world grain harvest

Postby onepence » Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:51 pm

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Daughty/jun212006.html

...

Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute says "This year’s world grain harvest is projected to fall short of consumption by 61 million tons, marking the sixth time in the last seven years that production has failed to satisfy demand. As a result of these shortfalls, world carryover stocks at the end of this crop year are projected to drop to 57 days of consumption, the shortest buffer since the 56-day-low in 1972 that triggered a doubling of grain prices."

He goes on to say "Perhaps the most dangerous threat to future food security is the rise in temperature. Among crop ecologists there is now a consensus that for each temperature rise of 1 degree Celsius above the historical average during the growing season, we can expect a 10 percent decline in grain yield."

None of this is news to alert reader Andrew H., who says he has farmed in eastern Australia for 36 years, who says that "The last 18 months is the worst I have ever experienced. Large parts (90%) of New South Wales are drought stricken (no winter wheat plantings) in Western Australia they had the driest May on record ever, also no wheat planted."

- On Azcentral.com we read where Jesse Toprak, executive director of Edmunds.com, says "Where the average car loan in 2003 lasted for 60 months, it has crept up to 64 months today."

As horrified as I am at the concept of a car loan for five and a half years, I run screaming from the room when he reports that "Part of the reason is the introduction of the 72-month loan." The introduction of the six-year car loan is only part of the reason that the average new car loan is longer? Wow! It is worse than I thought!

"Seventy-two months is sort of becoming the norm," he said. "Unless you put a substantial amount of money down, you will have negative equity."

That last cryptic remark stems from the additional news that "nearly 29 percent of U.S. car buyers found themselves 'upside-down' on their loans, owing an average of $3,789 more than their trade-in value." Ugh.


****Mogambo sez: My advice on gold and silver? Instead of me droning on, hour after hour, listen to the succinct Mike Hoy, who says the same things I would in few words. Writing an editorial on Gold-Esagle.com. He says "I believe the reasons for owning the precious metals have only intensified and become more obvious as each day passes."


Richard Daughty, the angriest guy in economics
9241 54th Street North
Pinellas Park, FL 33782
727 546 5568
e-mail: RichardSmithGroup@Verizon.net

Return to “News”