Fun fact in case you donât know:
Much of the Midwest USA (which is landlocked, with no major natural bodies of water except our rivers) is UNDERWATER and most of the food grown in the US wonât be grown this year. High water rescues are being performed in what is supposed to be prairie. Flooding shows no sign of stopping and is going to break the all time flooding record. Levees are topped and failing, retention pools are full, and on top of that, MAJOR tornadoes (over 750 so far, on 4 occasions reaching EF4 status) have been happening. Over 400 streets are closed in Missouri alone, and most of a major interstate (i29) is closed in Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska?
Above: Nebraska, where 90% of corn and soy is grown in the US. Left is normal, right is this past march.
Most farmers in these areas donât have flood insurance because theyâre not in flood planes and normally would never need it. So they are at a major loss.
The US grows about 70% of the entire countryâs staple crops, and half of Canadaâs, too. The US is Canadaâs main place of import because there is more viable planting space in the US than Canada. $1.4 billion of exports are sent to Australia every year as well, mostly pork, milk, and fruits that canât grow in Asia (Australiaâs main supplier).
There will not be corn, soy, dry beans, canned beans, beef, chicken, or wheat grown. Beef will go up at least 2$ a lb and corn and soy will be extremely pricey and hard to find because it will have to be imported.Â
Lots of farmers havenât even been able to plant their fields and cannot plant at all, most commonly as a result of too much moisture in the soilâthough driving through my part of Illinois, I can tell you that many fields are more puddle/lake than actual field.Â
Most of this area with lots of rain has already hit their âfinal planting date,â when crop insurance no longer guarantees the full payout as crops planted after that date stand a significantly higher risk of not making it to harvest. As a result, many farmers are looking at having to take prevented planting payments, which are generally 50-60% of their normal revenue. Additionally, taking these payments prevents those farmers from being able to replant their crop. While some havenât paid for inputs (fuel, seed, fertilizer), many already have, and it will be extremely difficult to cover these losses with such a low payment.Â
Itâs going to be a massive hit to small and medium-sized farms, which constitute over 90% of farms in the United States.
Livestock is also dying at an alarming rate - one person I know has recently lost 200 cattle because of flooding.
More levees have breeched in this and the flooding is worse than Katrina. More rain is still coming. Fields that should be planted right now are sitting under feet of standing water, which is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects.Â
Right now, we are leaning on a back supply of food, but this can only last for so long.
If you live somewhere that is affected by this, and you very well might, even if you donât know it, STOCK UP ON FOOD. Corn, soy, wheat, beef, and dry beans are the biggest things that will be affected. Chicken might be good to stock up on too. Prices will skyrocket when back supply begins to run low. This is a very real thing. Nuts, potatoes, and pea-based proteins shouldnât be affected.
Credit for help with this post goes to âsounds like a weirdly specific question but okayâ on facebook.
