by the author of Prepper’s Pantry and Three Miles
The cost of living is going nowhere but up. Everyone has been touched by skyrocketing inflation, high fuel prices, and the availability of certain supplies. And now, we’re facing a massive energy crisis. We’ve seen the signs for a while, as Fabian wrote last year in this article, but theory is quickly becoming reality.
Energy prices in Europe have catapulted to dizzying heights, leaving some folks facing bills of up to $10,000. And the United States is not untouched. Prices for power are already escalating here. Anecdotally, my own utility bill for September was double the price of my bill for August, and I used less energy. This upward trend is growing more common if my inbox is any indication.
But it isn’t just the price of essential utilities like heating and cooking that are going to be affected. The price and availability of food will be affected as well. We’re about to get handed a food crisis.
Manufacturers can’t afford to produce food.
All over the world, manufacturers are shutting down production to combat the price of energy. And in a world already seeing food shortages and empty shelves, this is a massive hit.
A source in Sweden tells me that two large greenhouses have said they’re shutting down production for the winter due to energy prices. And while I don’t have links for Sweden specifically, Reuters reports that other manufacturers in Europe are also doing this.
Across northern and western Europe, vegetable producers are contemplating halting their activities because of the financial hit from Europe’s energy crisis, further threatening food supplies…
Surging power and gas prices will impact crops grown through the winter in heated greenhouses, such as tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, and those which need to be placed in cold storage, such as apples, onions, and endives…
European farmers are warning of shortages. The anticipated hit to production and jump in prices means supermarkets may switch to sourcing more goods from warmer countries such as Morocco, Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt.
Surging gas prices are the biggest cost vegetable farmers cultivating inside greenhouses face, farmers said. Meanwhile, two French farmers renewing their electricity contracts for 2023 said they were being quoted prices more than ten times those of 2021. (source)
A major supplier of canned goods and other preserved food in the Netherlands, HAK, has announced they’re shutting down production during the coldest part of the year due to energy costs.
HAK, a major seller of conserved foods such as peas, beans, and apple sauce in the Netherlands, is to temporarily halt production this winter due to high energy costs, with a spokesperson saying the pause would last six weeks from January.
According to Dutch Chamber of Commerce records, HAK and related companies had sales of 100.2 million euros ($98 million) and operating profit of 10.2 million euros in 2021.
“If companies have to sell under their cost price for months on end, then things will turn out badly,” NOS further quoted Hoogeboom as saying.
Earlier on Monday, the Union of Dutch Fruit and Vegetable Processors (VIGEF) called for the government to either impose a cap on gas prices, as Germany has done or offer support for companies.
“It’s of importance to do this in line with other countries around us, to guarantee the continued existence of this industry and its supply chain, and to ensure that healthy food from Dutch soil remains affordable and available,” VIGEF said.
Food packed in cans and jars is usually heated to help reduce the need for artificial preservatives.
In addition, VIGEF estimated that the cost of metal and glass used in such packaging has risen to 25-35% of its members’ costs, from 5%, while farmers are also struggling with higher fertilizer prices, among other rising costs.
“It is not possible to keep absorbing these costs,” VIGEF said. (source)
HAK spokespeople assured the public this wouldn’t lead to empty shelves. (Of course not.)
(Check out our free QUICKSTART Guide to building a 3-layer food storage system to learn how to give yourself a buffer against rising food prices.)
Will we be affected by a food crisis in the United States?
I fear that Europe is the canary in the economic coal mine. I think it’s only a matter of time before the United States sees the same thing. We’ve already gotten glimpses of a fertilizer shortage – The OP posted about it here back in 2021. This was worsened when Russia vowed to halt fertilizer exports.
But it goes much further than that. Resilience.org published an article about the big picture.
Food security is being threatened by problems with distribution chains for all the inputs into the agricultural system—from spare parts to packaging to cooking fuel. Once again, as with energy prices, there are several mutually interacting causes, including lingering effects of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. The latter has led to the loss of wheat shipments from Ukraine and Russia, which together are responsible for nearly 30 percent of world supplies. Recently, Russia has rained missiles on Odesa, a major port for grain shipments, further disrupting global food distribution.
Altogether, foods exported from Russia and Ukraine normally account for more than 10 percent of all calories traded globally. The two countries also export a significant portion of the world’s vegetable oils used in cooking and preparing food. As a result of the conflict, there are now shortages of sunflower oil in Europe, and supermarkets in the UK are limiting purchases of cooking oil.
Low-income countries that were already destabilized by economic havoc from the pandemic are seeing further shocks now from higher food prices. Egypt is considering raising the price of subsidized bread for the first time in four decades, even though the subsidy is widely credited with keeping social unrest at bay.
In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, dozens of countries—including Hungary, Indonesia, Moldova, and Serbia—have thrown up trade barriers to protect domestic supplies of grains, fruits, vegetables, cooking oils, and nuts. While these barriers are intended to protect domestic food supplies, their collective result is to put more pressure on global prices.
Of course, all of this added food insecurity comes as our weather becomes weirder year by year. China’s wheat harvest this season is uncertain due to extreme rains in recent months, and, with global wheat prices already up 80 percent, a lot is at stake not just for the world’s most populous nation, but also for integrated global wheat markets. Meanwhile, Somalia, which imports nearly all its wheat from Ukraine and Russia, is suffering its worst drought in years.
In sum, experts are warning of the worst global food crisis since WWII. It is a crisis that will have its severest impacts on the poorest countries and poor people in relatively wealthy countries, especially those already experiencing food insecurity. There will also likely be compounding social and political consequences, as pointed out in a new report by risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, which notes that middle-income countries such as Brazil and Egypt will be particularly at risk for rising civil unrest. (source)
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The food crisis is global.
Like it or not, we’re part of a global economy. When everything is working smoothly, and there’s no war and animosity, this allows us to have access to a wider variety of food and resources. But when things begin going sideways, there’s a horrible domino effect that goes cascading through sector after sector.
We may not be dealing with quite the same level of crisis as Europe right now, but it’s only a matter of time. We’re in the midst of an economic collapse, and it’s a slow drain, the Thirdworldization that Fabian writes about. It’s happening now, and it is more essential than ever to have a plan to feed your family no matter what. You can’t just hope to find what you need on your weekly grocery trip, and this will continue to devolve.
How bad it will get, I have no idea. But it will get worse than it is now.
Are you expecting to see more food shortages? Do you see higher energy prices where you live? Do you know of any businesses shutting down due to energy or transportation prices? Let’s discuss this looming food crisis in the comments.
Hat Tip to Toby Cowern of Resilience Hub
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
Things are only going to get worse. The Lunatics are in charge, and they’ve no clue how to put the brakes on this, and I honestly think they want this to happen.
Yep, this has been in the works for a very long time. They don’t want to put the brakes on.
Their goal is to kill most of us and to enslave the rest, and to loot all we have.
I always thought that, by definition, a lunatic doesn’t have defined goals. If somebody can manage definite goals, then you can estimate where they’re going and act accordingly, and in that sense, they’re less dangerous to your wellbeing. But if they’re just plain erratic, it’s that much harder to prepare for what they may do.
Doly Garcia,
That is a brilliant observation.
The globalists are going to make your energy prices skyrocket try this now
Visit…… https://cutt.ly/3V6qMAD
Bro, I think you’re right about this. America is one country unlikely to fall into line with the Great Reset–an armed society that owns nothing will NOT love it. They will starve us into giving up guns, ammo and intel on those that have guns or stockpiles of food. It will be easy–they’ll offer debit cards that can be used at Walmart to buy limited supplies of staples in return for out intel. Eventually, food will be an incentive to receive any “vaccines” they decide we shall require…
Interesting, but I don’t completely agree. Some will take a stand rather than go down the path you describe.
Yes, the food crisis is global, whether we like it or not. This has stuck with me for my lifetime. My parents grew up during the depression so it was drummed into my head throughout my life. I was told as a kid being told to eat all my food because a child in another country would be happy to have it. They knew what it was like to question where their food was coming from. Now we have parts of the world where children don’t have meals for days at a time. The food they do get from food charities is sorghum seed which they have to ferment for it to be palatable. (my chickens won’t even eat sorghum seeds). I can hear people saying that it’s not up to us to feed the world, well, if we don’t feed the world, the world will be coming after our food.
I personally have been growing as much of my own food as possible and I am doing it using without using a gas-powered engine. Even if I didn’t have food in the pantry that I have collected over the years or was able to use electricity or natural gas for cooking, the garden would still be a source for me as would the wood we thin from the local forest. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and root crops all add nutritious calories to our diet. We also avoid throwing food out. Our chickens get the food scraps that we don’t eat ourselves.
We can each do what we can to alleviate the food and energy crisis through our own production and conservation.
“I can hear people saying that it’s not up to us to feed the world, well, if we don’t feed the world, the world will be coming after our food.”
What do you get when you feed a million starving africans?
Five million starving africans.
I have compassion for starving Africans. But they shouldn’t be killing the farmers in South Africa. That’s a death wish.
The solution is called birth control but alas, the theocrats would rather see starvation. A small bit of progress has been made due to Norplant and other multi-year birth control. A local nurse spoke about the miles African women would walk to obtain this. Guess they don’t like watching their children starve either.
How do your propose to make birth control like Norplant available in a post-SHTF world?
Birth control or any other “control” by humans doesn’t work, has never worked nor will it ever.
Africans don’t need “help” honestly.
Sure, there are those in deep need.
But I assure you – let the White – Western people stay the hell away from “helping” even those sighing and dying Africans !
Remember they killed, tortured the “colonialists” .
They did that in Kenya, South Africa, Haiti…and former Rhodesia.
Even if they beg you literally Don’t help. Don’t.
What have the White man gotten back from endless “aid” to Africa…
I live among them – that’s how I know.
They hate you and revile you
I suppose that you would have no problem substituting the continent of Europe for the continent of Africa in your equation and coming up with the same number of Europeans…Correct?
The First mistake is considering Europe energy needs and the US energy needs as the same, they are not.
Europe imports most of their critical energy supplies because they have to. We in the US have the supplies, but our government chooses not to utilize them.
This is a major difference.
The Second mistake; is the same old “globalist thinking” mistake. They believe everyone is the same , that all markets, companies, etc., are all the same. That they can transfer one idea, problem, solution, etc., across the board to everyone.
It is not that easy and does not work that way. The world is to diverse for that.
Though there may be similarities in the problems faced in various nations, they are still not entirely the same.
The Third mistake is in not understanding the geographic and climatic differences. Europe has cold winters and no nearby to access to tropical climates and foods. The Lower US and the South west has a mild climate, warmed by the Gulf stream. Plus we have easy access to Mexico and S. America for food stuffs.
So will we see some less than full shelves? Probably.
Will we see some supply interruptions and problems? Probably.
Will it be as bad as Europe? Never!
Spot on analysis, Mic.
Never? Never say never. Also, I speak to our famers here in my area where I live. THEY are nervous. That should tell you something. I have family in Ukraine, Wales, England and Poland. No one there, esp in Wales and England wanted to listen. Now? They are BEYOND hurting. However, as food prices rise here in the U.S. , which they will and as shelves empty out, you will see people start panicking. And those prices will rise through 2023. Panic buying WILL empty shelves until they put limits on things. I think too many downplay what is going on. Will every single store in the U..S be completely empty? No, of course not. However, if people truly knew what was going on, they would be afraid and I think they should be.
I have been sharing info with people since January of 2016 and every person I spoke to told me to shut my mouth.No one wanted to listen and now I have elderly neighbours who cannot afford dog food, who are giving up their pets and one elderly woman just told me, ‘it was me or the dog.” She is 75.
Imagine how much worse it will be for those on low-income,SSI/SSDI, the elderly (75 and older), with rising prices across the board, panic-buying. All of it is a recipe for disaster.
This is why I tell people prepare now, as best you can because there will be lots of empty shelves as well as people who will be priced out of a lot of stuff, including food.
Ms T,
Very well said.
My hat off to you.
Why thank you, young man!
Try the Kratky method, (on YouTube,) as a low tech hydroponic food growing method.
Shop at health food stores. Organic farmers are not as tied to commercial fertilizers and may not be as impacted as conventional farmers.
Try Azure Standard. They are directly connected to farmers.
Plant a garden next year! Buy your seeds NOW.
Try to have just a few laying hens. Maybe raise some rabbits. These things can be done in many cities. Many places have community gardens. Sign up for your spot ASAP.
Learn about hot frames, cold frames and other season extenders. Concentrate on the staples, like potatoes or sweet potatoes. Lots of nutrition and calories, and easy to store.
Connect with older folks who have a yard but can’t garden themselves. Make a deal to provide the labor if they provide the land, and split the produce. Maybe you can have some chickens on their property, too.
Maybe there are local churches or schools which can supply the space for raising gardens.
Think local. Fuel for transporting food will be harder to come by and greatly increase the cost of food. Not such a big issue if you shop at local farmers markets, ranchers, orchards, etc.
Learn to cook from scratch! A loaf of bread costs less than a dollar to make from scratch, while store bought bread costs at least three dollars. Easy to make no knead bread, learn from YouTube. Jennycancook has some excellent instruction videos on YouTube.
Stock up on grains and get a non-electric grain grinder. Maybe go in with a friend or relative to buy one. You can do the same with a pressure canner and food dehydrator. But get the equipment now. Look for this equipment at estate sales, thrift stores and yard sales.
Try pressure cooking. Uses much less fuel to cook. I like my Instapot. Makes great stews, pot roasts, chicken, beans, sweet and Irish potatoes, rice, etc.
Eat more soup! Very cheap to make, filling and nutritious. Nothing yummier than a hearty soup and homemade bread on a cold winter’s day. Add some oatmeal cookies for dessert and who could ask for more?
Look into thermal cooking, where you heat to boiling what you’re cooking (like soup,) and put it into a thermos-like container which is heavily insulated. It continues to cook for hours with its own heat. Takes longer to cook, but uses much less fuel. Used to be called a hay box, and the pioneers used it. Look into solar cookers, too.
If you are a little ambitious and have the room outdoors, you can build an outdoor bread oven. Again, YouTube is a good place to start. Same with outdoor rocket stoves and dutch oven cooking. If there isn’t enough fuel to transport and store food commercially, there won’t be much to cook with. Fall is a great time to learn new cooking methods. And learn how to start a campfire. Have matches, lighters, and flint and steel for fire starting. As always, be careful with flames and carbon monoxide, etc.
Check out The Provident Prepper YouTube channel. Tons of info on that site, as well as others.
Don’t forget water! Have a way to obtain, store and purify water.
Our ancestors faced these same problems and survived. With determination and God’s help, we can, too!
Thank you for so much good information in condensed form!
Provident Prepper does indeed have some good information. I also recommend it.
Amen Val – The Almighty GOD is still on the Throne
The worst is definitely yet to come. However here in the mountains of NC locally we have not seen complete outages of products recently like there was during the beginning of the plandemic. There have been some shortages like on eggs, but we raise our own with a small flock of Golden Comets, another of Black Australorps and a mixed flock of Khaki Campbell & Rouen ducks.In fact we have a large enough surplus of eggs to supply 5 families with their weekly eggs.
Boneless chicken breasts can still be purchased for $1.99/lb on sale, boneless pork loin for $1.79, NY strip or sirloin for $6.99/lb and ground 85-93% beef for $4.99. Gas did spike but has dropped back under $3.25 per gallon which is where it was when I last filled out reserve Jerry cans early last spring. Rumor is gas will start back up so we will refill all our empty cans this week.
As for electric energy costs we are blessed to belong to a small Electric Co-op where the prices have been very stable over the past year.Last September we were billed at just over $0.10 per KWH and last month’s bill actually dropped slightly to just under $0.10 per KWH. Propane however has jumped up about 22% from last year. We fill our underground propane take every fall and it powers our range, hot water, gas log and the whole house generator for emergency back up.
Fall crops are planted, our greenhouse project will start construction next week and our first crop of micro greens will be planted under grow lights in our heated garage. Keep on prepping and praying. These are the good old days.
Maybe this is off topic (this is where my mind goes because you all give me such great food for thought). I looked into my state’s cost per kW for our seasons (online) & I am challenging our household to using the majority of our energy in the off peak hours to help save some costs. But mostly to NOT give it to Wisconsin Energies. Makes ya wonder WHY you don’t see commercials to consumers to help reduce their energy costs (I miss the old commercials don’t you?) Oh wait…they don’t want you to know!
This is going to be one to remember.
I noted in another article a German politician said something to the effect of “the age of abundance is over.”
Later that week, a Spanish politician she said something similar.
Here in the US, the July jobs number came in nearly twice what was predicted. Thing is, it was not 525,000 jobs created. When you drill down into the Home Household Survey, it was some 250,000 people taking second jobs to make ends meet.
The price of gas has come down to a degree, but it is still high. That with the costs of rent, utility bills, food, is really putting the squeeze on not only the lower economic class, but the middle class as well. Wages are NOT keeping up with inflation.
Keeping an eye on US crop production. The West and parts of the Mid-West are experiencing drought conditions. Couple that with elevated prices of fertilizer and fuel, higher food prices later this year and into the next.
If next years spring planting does not go well, we could see Great Depression era like times.
Take a moment. Look around. This just might be the beginning of the end of the good times.
1stMarineJarHead The joke that is going around in my circle is “I called my stock broker the other day and asked what should I buy?”His reply: “Canned goods, dried beans and ammo”.
Just read the UN is demanding all central banks to stop rate hikes and implement price controls.
I think the situation just went from bad to worse.
It’s the equivalent of throwing gas on the fire. Turkey just did that and now their inflation rate is 186%. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/turkeys-annual-inflation-hits-new-24-year-high-at-8345percent/2022/10/03/634e0eb0-42ef-11ed-be17-89cbe6b8c0a5_story.html
Not better.
When empty shelves become noticed enough, people will panic and ravage the stores like they did toilet paper. It doesn’t occur to a certain part of our entitled country to take care of their own business, and depend on others to raise them.
Years ago I got prepped, weapons, food, water purification, meds, dental work, glasses etc…Then the elites put in a lull and I let it all go.
So now I had to start fresh since the wolf is at the door.
THIS TIME…I realized that we waste about 40% of food, we over buy, under prepare and become dependent.
So I started fasting…Coffee/tea, eat 1 healthy meal a day, have a simple snack at night.
Lost weight, saved money, saved food waste, feel better etc.
Start cutting off the extras.
Only thing I eat heavy is RED MEAT…Keeps me strong and with drive…I suggest everyone who’s serious look into Intermittent Fasting.
It will keep you lean, fast and motivated.
Whatever comes my way, I’m a lot better prepared than last time…Next up a small Tilapia fishery with a small garden of spices, chilis, teas and healthy EATABLE plants…ESPECIALLY sprouts and maybe some wheat grass.
Like this post. I also fast daily.
Eat like a king in the morning, a squire in the afternoon, and a peasant at night. I’m 51 and while I’m not in fighting trim like I was at 30, I feel great.
For most people, this might also improve your cholesterol numbers if you are in the ‘bad’ range. A few years ago after blood work. my doctor want me to start taking statins. I refused, based on the reading I had already been doing (I’m a scientist). Exercise, lots of vegetable based diet (which we grow ourselves), cutting out processed and chemical based foods – 3 months later, after losing 25 lbs, blood work results showed dramatic improvement. The human body was not designed to operate on chemicals.
in Ontario, Canada, my current natural gas bill is 3 times last month’s bill and previous to last month I was heating a pool, this month not.
I probably won’t be making comments here for quite a while from now on. Nothing to do with this site specifically, it’s just that things are getting to my personal trigger point of deciding to stop making comments in public sites on the Internet. Anything you say on the Internet might be used against you, and all that. When even a celebrity like Elon Musk cannot make what seemed to me a reasonable pacifist suggestion without starting a storm of controversy, it seems to me that it’s the time for reasonable pacifists to shut up, mind our own business, and make sure that our preps aren’t in any way going to be anything that other people might object to.
Doly Garcia,
“When even a celebrity like Elon Musk cannot make what seemed to me a reasonable pacifist suggestion without starting a storm of controversy, it seems to me that it’s the time for reasonable pacifists to shut up, mind our own business, and make sure that our preps aren’t in any way going to be anything that other people might object to.”
Yes!
What sense does that make?
Glenn Greenwald made a similar observation recently. It is like some are out there and they want this proxy war with Russia.
Just read an article about possible butter shortage.
Butter was up 24.6% in the month of August.
The article cited the cause was the price of feed, energy, heifers and labor.
Another article found 60% of America’s were living paycheck to paycheck.
Of note, households making six-figures were up to 45% living paycheck to paycheck. That is up from 38% the previous year.
I wish the figures accounted for geographic areas, average rent (which can be bogus if you live in a resort area – ID/WY were in a recent article – fund raising so fire personnel could have housing, yikes). Some folks tend to spend every penny s/he makes, never thinking times might get tight. Been seeing a slight uptick in the number of “toys” for sale – boats, jet skis, ATVs etc. It’d be one thing if people mostly paid cash but financing is far too easy. BNPL (buy now pay later) is another financial mess waiting to happen.
Our electric bill (for 2 households on our property) is usually around $240. Somewhat higher in the summer. This July it was $388. Bad, but it was really hot, so, okay. In August it was $522 and in Sept. it was up another $17.
So what you’re saying is that doom is fast approaching, or kind of fast? It’s all so complicated. I mean, if I wore panties would they be in a twist right now, or no? Lighten up boys and girls.
The collapse happens slowly.
Then, suddenly.
Have you spoken with anyone who lived through the collapse in Venezuela? I have. In fact, they were going door to door in my community just before the 2020 election – spending a whole lot of time talking to Americans trying to make them aware the USA was at the same tipping point Venezuela was before it collapsed. When things happen – they happen so fast it puts most people in a state of disbelief.
This is going to get really bad if it continues. I mean really bad.
What happens if you receive your next electric bill and found out it has tripled (compared to now)
What would you do?
Now imagine a business receiving its electric bill that has tripled. What will they do?
I will people pay for ANYTHING??
Should be HOW will people pay for anything?
Some yahoo in the UK did the math, and figured out an average pub in England would have to charge $20 (USD) for a pint of beer to stay in business, i.e. pay the electric bill.
If the commies in charge would return our energy sector to the way they got it, we could be supplying at least some of the energy needs in Europe. But wait, the Globalists are determined to wreck the globe. Pandemic didn’t do it, the poison covid shot didn’t do it, limiting fertilizer didn’t do it, high price fuel didn’t do it, now they are destroying warehouses and processing plants to stress the US agricultural system. Looks like we will soon be fending for ourselves…
Some reports are saying that when (not if) diesel tops $8.00 per gallon many, if not most, truckers will park their trucks. They would be operating at a loss.
Also most farms operate diesel equipment. If they can’t make a profit, however small, they will stop planting. Actually many have already thrown in the towell.
Considering that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is almost empty. (Below 1984 levels), prices have nowhere to go but up.
Did you know that the Biden regime has been selling oil from the SPR to China?
And OPEC+ is looking to cut production by 2 million.
And those selling OPEC+ countries food (and other coveted goods – cigarettes, liquor) should cut back an equivalent amount plus. They can dine on sand and oil.
You really think 1st world countries are going to give up their 1st world living status to boycott those OPEC+ countries?
Have you seen the EU scrambling to secure energy supplies for this winter? Germans buying electric heaters or ‘wood stoves’ trending in Germany?
EU countries are buying up so much LNG, third world countries are experiencing black outs.
EU countries are buying up so much LNG, prices here in the US are expected to go up.
They already are.
Would you be willing to go to your electrical box, and trip the main breaker for the rest of the year till next spring to virtual signal to all those OPEC+ counties?
Of course you wont.
Just read about the Biden admin response to the OPEC+ production cuts.
Nothing more arrogant like one country trying to tell other countries how to run their country.
Then again, the US could increase its own domestic energy production and not be so dependent on the global markets.
Oh, wait, that would be self-reliance or ‘isolationist’ policy. Cannot have that.
Of course I’m seeing higher energy prices. Propane is up 21% since last fall, and that was a jump from the year before. They are supposed to come fill our tank … two days ago, but haven’t shown up yet. Meanwhile we had to turn on the heat yesterday for the first time this year. I expect this fill will cost up $1700.
I framed one cold frame last weekend, and hope to be able to buy supplies for another one and put it up this coming weekend. I’ll just grow the basics – Swiss Chard, radishes, beets, turnips.
I haven’t seen any bare shelves at local grocers, but holy moly the prices are higher. Coffee – the cheap stuff – is 50% higher. Eggs are still up over 100%. Potatoes are currently a loss leader, so I’ll be getting that 20 pound bag.
Fern,
Yep, been seeing the same here.
Some empty shelves, but higher prices.
Great research Daisy.
I’ll just add this from a farmers perspective; there’s barely enough money in production agriculture to raise a family on a modern small family farm (9-11% interest on sea-doos, bass boats, snowmobiles, four wheelers and side by sides. Now energy costs are rising. No shit? Food cost is going to rise?
I like many posters of this site. A lot I respect. A lot are here to learn and grow. I like that. Know this.. I’ve posted several warnings to more than a couple articles written by Fabian and others warning and, in fact, pleading readers to understand; farmers and ranchers are tired. Tired of chasing a market of consumers that act like spoiled petulant children (just tell me WTF you want, grass fed, grain fed, nongmo, etc.) and want my work cheap. Guess what? Producing food on a production level ain’t cheap.
We’re tired. Tired of a fickle market that moves up and down like a windjammer with full sails in a heavy squall. Tired of feeling the pinch in prices years before regular consumers feel it and can’t do a damn thing about any of it.
Know this also, small family farms tried. But the wave of corporate farming and easy lending that turned farming neighbors into farming enemies is the harvest you reap for the cheap seed you all sowed.
Part of my post got cut out in the first paragraph. I have no idea why. Sorry. I know it don’t make a lot of sense.
~Jim,
Well said.
I find it interesting how all those big blue cities on the coasts like to call us deplorables or fly over states, sneering down at us.
Personally, if it were possible for all the small family farms to say, “Know what, I am going to take this year off from farming.” and see how the markets react.
Of course they will shrike it is our responsibility to feed them at the lowest cost possible.
Great post Jim….although my family grows what we can ourselves for our own consumption and sharing when possible, we buy what we can in bulk from small family farms – no matter where they are in the US. I grew up on a small family farm. I can relate, and many of us appreciate your efforts more than you might realize.
Daisy mentioned the weird weather in the US. I find that nteresting as I sit here in my house in a sweater and jacket and ugh boots to keep warm in Sydney, when we should be on the downhill slide to a dry sunny summer. It’s wet, and cold and dark, which is not our usual weather patterns at all. I have put in some cold weather seedlings as well as the summer ones hoping something will thrive.
My gauge for inflation is a box of rice bubbles cereal. I think your rice crispies?
They were 6.50 for an 860 gram large box before covid. The price has been doing fifty cent jumps with each time it goes up and the shop puts a sign on the shelf sticker price that says ‘everyday low price’. Hmmmm…no it’s not. The same box was $9.50 today, and had that same infuriatingly patronising ‘low price’ sticker. I guess the economic factors driving up the cereal prices go way beyond the wonky weather now.
All the suppliers of alternative brands are gone from our store shelves too. Only Coca Cola Amatil products in the liquid sugars aisle. All other producers and products have been cleared from the shelves and no longer carried. If the product is not from a large conglomerate supplier, it’s no longer stocked in store.
Storing and prepping your own food can be a difficult alternative as we don’t have the canning culture so we struggle to get any supplies for such things. I recently started an order for canning lids from Lehman’s, it was $57.00 for shipping a small amount of lids, which was more than the actual cost of the lids, so needless to say I cancelled the order. I did manage to find a second hand Excalibur dehydrator for $350, bargain as they are around 600 new here.
We are encouraging our 16 year old to find a weekend job to help pay for his own things that teens like, but we struggle to find anything he can do (being un-poked) and close to home so he can get there. (Teens are not allowed to drive alone until almost 18). It will be good for him and help make ends meet. And if nothing else it will certainly help him understand the significance and reasoning of giving up rice bubbles in our weekly shopping.
And that wouldn’t be the worst! 😉 Rice, potatoes, sugar, wheat, oils, etc. all contribute to inflammation which is deadly to our health. If only they focused on telling the world that to help combat the plandemic. And we know the rest…
I’d rather eat rice, potatoes, sugar, wheat, oils, etc. than starve to death.
The Biden admin has made it clear they are going all in on green energy, and putting the domestic fossil fuel industry out of business. They fail to show us the math on how going green without fossil fuels will be achieved.
Fact is, it wont.
What it will lead to is higher energy costs, possible blackouts, and maybe even you will own nothing, and be miserable about it. They will tell you, you are happy about it. Actually sitting in the dark, no heat or AC, and eating your bug biscuits is not such a good time. Meanwhile your better, wealthier elites will be dinning on steak, lobster, a fine wine, all in the comfort of their 4,500sqft home.
The Biden admin is also trying to revive the Iran nuclear deal.
That of course ticked off a number of countries and to a degree made some happy (Russia).
One of those ticked off countries would be Saudi Arabia and maybe a few other OPEC+ countries. Regardless, OPEC+ voted to cut production by 2 million barrels a day.
The Biden admin has been drawing down on the US Strategic Reserve of oil to off set the Biden admin induced energy crisis. The Strategic Reserve has been drawn down to 1984 (ironic) levels. The draw down was supposed to end this month. But in light of the recent OPEC+ cut, the draw down will continue.
Thing is, the US Strategic Reserve is supposed to be used in cases of real emergencies. NOT a politically induced one (e.g. turbo charging the money printing machine and flooding the US with money).
Here is the kicker: The Biden admin continues with the draw down of the Strategic Reserve, while trying to get Venezuela to increase production (yes, Biden is asking a communist country to increase production) by relaxing sanctions.
I dont know about you all, but this looks like a set up for failure.
The Strategic Reserve is lowered and lowered, we are dependent on Venezuela production, OPEC+ is setting us up and the West for a fail, and Venezuela will get a win both ways.
I am looking at this from a macro perspective and how is it the Biden admin is not setting themselves up for failure?
What? Drawing down on the Strategic Reserve, our DoD supply of arms and munitions to Ukraine? Great for the MIC! Not so much if China decides to make a go at Taiwan and the US does not have the munitions?
The US draws down on the Strategic Reserve so much that when the global energy markets spike, the US finds itself in a energy crunch? No, not crunch. Energy crash.
This. Is where we are.
Prep accordingly.
…and it could result in a global free for all…with the US being attacked by many, not just the one or two ‘major’ players.
Kelvin Skye,
“…and it could result in a global free for all…”
I could see that.
We are seeing EU countries scrambling to secure energy, each country putting their country’s interest first.
All well and good to have alliances, when there is a abundance of things like energy and food.
When there is the threat of shortages, suddenly the idea of looking out for yourself or own country becomes a priority.
Read an article about people in Poland burning trash to stay warm.