I was wrong about food costs this year.

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by Seepalaces, May 13, 2019.


  1. Seepalaces

    Seepalaces Monkey+++

    When we heard about the weather in the mid west, my husband and I did the numbers and we couldn't make a case for worrying about food costs next year. We did not take into account any other factors than the floods and snow in the US. The African swine flu is projected to eradicate forty percent of all pork production this year. That's a world wide figure. Most of those losses will be in China. There are suggestions that this will raise prices on all meat world wide (because if bacon is too expensive, you might just go with turkey bacon). McDonald's has suggested this will raise their prices by two to three percent overall. I don't see how that can be, but I hope they have people who are better at math prediction than I am on staff. Pigs take two years to grow old enough to be slaughtered, so this is not a short term event. I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but to me it looks like there aren't a lot more moves in this game of jenga.
     
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  2. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    Smithfield, the largest pork producer in the US is China owned.
     
  3. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    It's long past time to protest foreign made goods , and buy 'Merican,,,,
     
  4. Out in the woods

    Out in the woods off-grid in-the-forest beekeeper

    I breed pigs. Most of the small-scale homesteaders in this area want to buy a piglet in the Spring, planning on butchering in the fall at around 300 pounds. My boar is a 'large black' he weighs around 750, and my sows are berkshires that weigh around 350.
     
  5. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    I wondered about the flooding in the mid-west and how that would relate to food prices. The flooding has been really bad. The weather affected both crops, cows (Nebraska) and the growing of feed.
     
  6. Re: Seepalaces #1post. It may take 2 years to get a beef to market but getting a hog to market better be counted in months.
     
  7. Seepalaces

    Seepalaces Monkey+++

    That sounds like good news. One of the articles I was reading was talking about it taking two years. So, is that fake news? What's the vote? Also, out in the woods, they are saying some US farmers should look out for feed issues from China.
     
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  8. Seepalaces

    Seepalaces Monkey+++

    I always think we're lucky to duck a lot of the crazy because we go to church with a number of farmers. If the world turns upside down, they'll find a way to help us. We're spoiled.
     
  9. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Pot Belly Pigs are a source of Varmints here.
     
  10. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    With the rain here, if it keeps up, we will have mature grass feed beef a plenty.
     
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  11. Airtime

    Airtime Monkey+++

    My brother in law used to have a hog operation and years ago I would cover for him when he went on vacation and help him some with the operation. He had a small operation and would only market 1000 hogs per year. Birth to market weight which was in the 260-270 pound range on hoof was typically 7 to 7.5 months.
     
  12. That is about what we ran. Our buyer was "Little Oscar". We sold when hogs averaged 200/220 lbs. I wish some anti-hunting activists would tour a meat packing facility. The operations aren't exactly inhumane, but those animals are a commodity. They are run through VERY fast.
     
  13. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    LOT of the articles one reads anymore are written by people that flat know nothing about the subject.

    We grow 2-3 feeder pigs every year from 40lb weaned piglets to 300+ pound (I let mine get bigger than market weight) in 8-9 months or so. A female pig will have two litters/yr of anywhere from 8-12+ piglets versus a cow taking 9 months, and usually one calf (twins are fairly rare).
     
  14. mysterymet

    mysterymet Monkey+++

    Its not just the flooding in the fields. It damaged silos and ruined what was left of last years’ crops in them. Also it has been very cold and rainy and the farmers are having a hard time getting the fields planted and there is some worry that what was planted might have been damaged in the cold snap we had. We will see how it turns out...
     
  15. Big Ron

    Big Ron Monkey+++

    Many farmers are not planning on even planting this year. I think eventually you will see it in the price of grain and meat products in the future. The Solar minimum?
     
  16. Wildbilly

    Wildbilly Monkey+++

    I haven't noticed the prices for corn, wheat and soybeans increasing very much, but the farmer never gets paid what his crops are worth.
     
  17. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    it's interesting to look at commodity pricing. all grains are down slightly from last year at this time

    you use to be able to look up pork belly futures but they don't trade them any more, i think they trade in lean hog futures now but the volumn is so low there isn't much room for investor profit.
     
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  18. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    As a nation we need to become less dependent on China (and Mexico) and become more self-sufficient.
    If we don't, we will have learned nothing from the '73 Arab Oil Embargo.
     
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  19. oldman11

    oldman11 Monkey+++

    I believe that people that have the place for a victory garden should have one to be on the safe side. Always have something to fall back on Incase of a emergency. This year with all the rain and bad weather,it might come in handy.
    [flag]
     
  20. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    I remember the '73 gas shortage , and I remember the older folks then complaining about foreign crap . Most people , at least the country folks , were self sufficient , the city folks , not so much . But as a country , the politicians started selling out our independence . It's a whole different country these day's , and I can't say it's for the better .
     
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