[gloryblaze]

Farmers will increase production if they get a whiff of profit. I thought I was pretty clear.

[Intar]

Sure. I don't deny that exists in the microeconomic sense, but in the macro sense the government and trade groups do set quotas on certain crops and the government encourages certain crops over others, such as corn (ethanol). This interferes with the market and turns it into supply side rather than demand and robs it of true equilibrium, resulting in artificially higher prices. I know similar policies also exist, perhaps to a lesser extent, on livestock. I welcome evidence to the contrary if you can link it.

In thinking more on the drought issue I am reminded of California's mismanagement of water rights due to climate change/wildlife preservation policies where the central valley has effectively been denied water. This has lead to many farms going fallow or some farms changing crops to those that require less water. These policies were not drought driven, but environmentalist driven, and have resulted in lower production rates out of California at least.