CNN (August 14)
“Nuclear power plants idled. Crops harvested at 3 a.m. Iconic tourist attractions shuttered early. Soaring temperatures are forcing drastic measures in Europe, where successive heatwaves are straining an economy already under pressure from US tariffs, Chinese competition and higher energy prices because of the Iran war.”
Tags: Chinese competition, Crops, Economy, Energy, Europe, Heatwaves, Idled, Nuclear, Plants, Shuttered, Straining, Temperatures, Tourist attractions, U.S. tariffs
Reuters (June 6)
“Even though supply disruptions in many parts of the world are severe and policy solutions are challenging, Western governments do have the opportunity to reverse the rising cost of food through the simple scrapping of biofuel mandates. This would remove a very large non-food demand for crops and turn the current grain shortage to a surplus, easing the pressure on inflation.”
Tags: Biofuel mandates, Crops, Demand, Disruptions, Food, Governments, Grain shortage, Inflation, Opportunity, Solutions, Supply, Surplus
Reuters (December 24)
“A financing drought may crack farmers’ loyalty to Donald Trump. The U.S. president’s trade war has evaporated export markets for a number of crops, leaving growers struggling even more than before.”
Tags: Crops, Drought, Export markets, Farmers, Financing, Growers, Loyalty, Struggling, Trade war, Trump, U.S.
Chicago Tribune (November 26)
“Global warming is a Midwest crisis in the making.” A just released federal climate change report predicts “sopping rains will damage crops, then heat waves will fry them. Humid conditions will spur the growth of pests and pathogens that will degrade the quality of stored corn or soybeans. Before mid-century… Midwest agricultural productivity will slip back to levels of the 1980s.”
Tags: Agriculture, Climate change, Corn, Crisis, Crops, Damage, Global warming, Heat waves, Midwest, Pathogens, Pests, Productivity, Rains, Soybeans
The Economist (June 2)
“Climate change is making the Arab world more miserable…Already-long dry seasons are growing longer and drier, withering crops. Heat spikes are a growing problem too, with countries regularly notching lethal summer temperatures. Stretch such trends out a few years and they seem frightening—a few decades and they seem apocalyptic.”
Tags: Apocalyptic, Arab, Climate change, Crops, Dry seasons, Frightening, Heat spikes, Lethal, Miserable, Temperatures, Withering
Wall Street Journal (September 3)
“All across American agriculture, production is up and prices are down.” With bumper crops expected, “corn prices have tanked, dropping to about $2.85 a bushel today from $6.50 three crop-seasons ago.” The Department of Agriculture is stepping in to help farmers with some subsidies and other programs, but what farmers really need is for Congress to “approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” which would boost demand overseas substantially.
Tags: Agriculture, Congress, Corn, Crops, Demand, DoA, Farmers, Overseas, Prices, Production, Subsidies, TPP
