Posted on 03/06/2022 7:20:28 AM PST by RomanSoldier19
IRISH farmers will be asked to grow some wheat, barley and other grains to offset any potential food shortage caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The 'wartime' plan which is being drawn up as Russia continues its bombardment of Ukraine because both countries supply large amounts of grain and fertilizers around the world.
Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue has created an emergency team that has been tasked with coming up with financial support to help persuade Irish farmers to grow more grains here.
The nation is heavily reliant on imported grains which are used in both human and animal food.
Ireland imports a staggering 60 per cent of the five million tons of grain the nation consumes annually.
Ukraine supplies Ireland with the majority of our maize corn - a main ingredient in animal feed.
Russia also supplies a large amount of chemical fertilizer.
(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.ie ...
The climate and terrian in Ireland is not the best for growing wheat.
There is a reason Kansas and the Ukraine look similar.
America should be ready to farm every acre of available land this spring, be ready to make use of lower yields due to lack of fertilizer and be prepared to defend those acres against a government that will come calling to say that growing food is now illegal.
They could pay our farmers to grow it while the US Government pays them to not grow it.
They are busy growing potatoes.
I like having Irish oats for breakfast. I guess I had better stock up.
“They are busy growing potatoes.”
Going to need them because of all the Russian Vodka being dumped.
“There is a reason Kansas and the Ukraine look similar.”
Grain is one of those things you can’t do profitably on a small scale. Take a look at a grain harvester, for example. The size of the equipment alone requires a huge amount of space. I’d guess a field smaller than a mile square isn’t feasible given the size the equipment required to harvest. True you could probably scale it down, but the payback would be years away.
Ukraine is going to miss its planting season, at least in much of the east. Russia is holding back its massive fertilizer exports (at least to the West). We see at least one reason India and China have lined up with Russia. Ireland and the mid-east had better come up with a plan soon.
“Grain is one of those things you can’t do profitably on a small scale. Take a look at a grain harvester, for example. The size of the equipment alone requires a huge amount of space. I’d guess a field smaller than a mile square isn’t feasible given the size the equipment required to harvest”
Yes and NO. Bigger fields are easier to work but I have seen soybeans growing on lots not much bigger than a suburban residential lot in Nebraska and Iowa.
Smaller fields require a scythe and lots of backbreaking labor, but if you want to eat…
The food,shortages lcould hit here too it is said becausemof,because of fertilizer issue. Some are predicting an additional $1000 added to monthly grocery bills because of it and bare shelves again.
“Yes and NO. “
I’m not saying it can’t be done. But other things to consider, if you don’t already grow grain then you may find bugs and biology problems (fungus) you didn’t know you had. Also, you need a large amount of infrastructure like silos and specialized handling equipment. Also, you’ll need to develop processing capabilities. All of that must be developed, built and paid for. Once you’ve done all of that, someone has to mill the grain into flour which then, presumably, can be distributed. Since presumably the farmer has never shipped grain before he has to find someone who can handle it, ship it and store it. Again, we’re looking at a lot of financing for every step. If any of this was economically feasible, wouldn’t it have already been done?
This is all you need.
Allcropharvester.com
The Irish are really, really good at growing barley.
Not one mention in all this ‘wheat shortage crisis’ that we in the US should stop paying farmers NOT to plant. Wheat, corn, etc, should be like oil and gas...plant, plant, plant, grow, grow, grow, drill, drill, drill.
AND quit burning corn (ethanol madness).
“This is all you need.”
That and financing, transportation, processing and storage. Emphasis on “financing.”
BTW, I ran across a report a few months ago on crop land the US Government was paying farmers NOT to plant. If we reversed that policy and stopped paying farmers not to plant (to keep prices high) then the world situation would be significantly better. But there is such a huge amount of political power behind those programs don’t look for any reversal even if we have a world wide famine.
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