Seedtime nor Harvest Shall not Fail?

[DrWazzock]

….as it says in the Good Book.
But with climate change bringing extremes, how far away are we from a failed harvest somewhere in the world of big enough proportions to severely impact global commodity supplies?
Shouldn’t governments be building stocks like the old intervention stores?

 

[Top Tip.]

….as it says in the Good Book.
But with climate change bringing extremes, how far away are we from a failed harvest somewhere in the world of big enough proportions to severely impact global commodity supplies?
Shouldn’t governments be building stocks like the old intervention stores?

Now that is far to sensible and far seeing for any government to contemplate. They only do reactive never proactive!!

 

[DrWazzock]

I feel it will creep up on them, like covid. We would only need one of those US style heat bubbles to set itself over Western Europe in spring and we’d be looking at big shortages.

 

[Tarw Coch]

….as it says in the Good Book.
But with climate change bringing extremes, how far away are we from a failed harvest somewhere in the world of big enough proportions to severely impact global commodity supplies?
Shouldn’t governments be building stocks like the old intervention stores?

I never paid a lot of attention in school and probably even less when they were discussing that book you’re on about but I do seem to recall something about seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine .

 

[serf]

It's OK if we get short of food we can just import it ........

 

[DrWazzock]

It will bite us if we don’t make provision soon. Reservoirs, intervention stores needed. Forget ELMS. It’s a sideshow. We aren’t going to stabilise the climate by pissing about with sequestration before things get interesting.

 

[neilo]

….as it says in the Good Book.
But with climate change bringing extremes, how far away are we from a failed harvest somewhere in the world of big enough proportions to severely impact global commodity supplies?
Shouldn’t governments be building stocks like the old intervention stores?

Didn’t that happen in 2012. Lots of countries around the world suffered poor harvests and global commodity prices went up.

It doesn’t seem like any lessons were learnt from that, and I doubt they will be from this year’s events. Fortunately for farmers in the UK we seem to be having a decent enough year so far, so may be able to reap the rewards of other people’s misfortune for a change.

I would think it will take several consecutive years of global shortages & high prices before our govt decides a precautionary food policy might be prudent.

 

[DrWazzock]

I just find it ironic we are embarking on CO2 reduction plans which although welcome and necessary will take decades to make an impact. But we are trying to ignore the extremes that are already here and doing nothing to mitigate them,

 

[Tarw Coch]

Didn’t that happen in 2012. Lots of countries around the world suffered poor harvests and global commodity prices went up.

It doesn’t seem like any lessons were learnt from that, and I doubt they will be from this year’s events. Fortunately for farmers in the UK we seem to be having a decent enough year so far, so may be able to reap the rewards of other people’s misfortune for a change.

I would think it will take several consecutive years of global shortages & high prices before our govt decides a precautionary food policy might be prudent.

A small shortage in food supplies, prices go up and everyone thinks the farmers are raking it in although in reality the higher prices are probably struggling to make up for the lower yield.
Who would think to look at government policy for the effect that might be having?

 

[Flat 10]

I just find it ironic we are embarking on CO2 reduction plans which although welcome and necessary will take decades to make an impact. But we are trying to ignore the extremes that are already here and doing nothing to mitigate them,

Same as getting money for flood prevention/protection

 

[DrWazzock]

Same as getting money for flood prevention/protection

They will pay me to flood my land and lay waste to crop production but they won’t pay me to build a reservoir to store useful water to irrigate productive land. There is a big difference. And it’s not gone unnoticed. Despite them being up their balls in water in town in winter they say there is no further scope for winter abstraction unless I buy a licence from somebody else.
Fiddling while Rome burns.

 

[Hindsight]

It's OK if we get short of food we can just import it ........

Given the obesity issues reckon most of us (me included) could survive for a few months on stored 'reserves' Might be the best thing really.

 

[ollie989898]

There is always someone harvesting something, somewhere.

Also, as a species we aren't exactly hooked on any particular commodity. Shortage of wheat? We can eat corn or rice instead. If there is no corn or rice, then we can always tuck into some vegans.

 

[Macsky]

….as it says in the Good Book.
But with climate change bringing extremes, how far away are we from a failed harvest somewhere in the world of big enough proportions to severely impact global commodity supplies?
Shouldn’t governments be building stocks like the old intervention stores?

Ecclesiastes 1v9

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.

Read Genesis 41 onwards for a reminder of some past extremes.

 

[DrWazzock]

There is always someone harvesting something, somewhere.

Also, as a species we aren't exactly hooked on any particular commodity. Shortage of wheat? We can eat corn or rice instead. If there is no corn or rice, then we can always tuck into some vegans.

Not to be too gloomy but if we got a proper sustained heat dome over the grain belt of USA or Russia then I reckon we could easily see rationing here in the U.K. There will be harvests elsewhere but sooner or later the hole will be just too big to fill. Will happen within 3 years I reckon. Asleep at the wheel.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Not to be too gloomy but if we got a proper sustained heat dome over the grain belt of USA or Russia then I reckon we could easily see rationing here in the U.K. There will be harvests elsewhere but sooner or later the hole will be just too big to fill. Will happen within 3 years I reckon. Asleep at the wheel.

Thats got me wondering what the ( Western ?) Worlds base food needs would actually be .
Ie what tonnage is wasted Generally and to break that figure down how much is wasted just going towards feeding obesity,

 

[thorpe]

….as it says in the Good Book.
But with climate change bringing extremes, how far away are we from a failed harvest somewhere in the world of big enough proportions to severely impact global commodity supplies?
Shouldn’t governments be building stocks like the old intervention stores?

the answer to your first question, not far , to many things happening in the world , bad things.

 

[thorpe]

It's OK if we get short of food we can just import it ........

we can if its there!

 

[Lincsman]

A good shortage = good prices.

 

[thorpe]

They will pay me to flood my land and lay waste to crop production but they won’t pay me to build a reservoir to store useful water to irrigate productive land. There is a big difference. And it’s not gone unnoticed. Despite them being up their balls in water in town in winter they say there is no further scope for winter abstraction unless I buy a licence from somebody else.
Fiddling while Rome burns.

with all the deveopment around here they dont have to pay me for flooding land , it does anyway , its going into mid tier this year and thats after 50 years of beet and winter cropping! we struggle to go spring barley now.