How to Beat Coming Killer Food Shortages

[Scientific Playa]

How to Beat Coming Killer Food Shortages

50% of America's fruits and veggies are grown in California and the Feds are destroying their crops. What this means for you.


Full NOAA maps HERE
Holly Deyo
Activist Post

PREFACE: Only a small space is required to grow most fruits and veggies for a family. So Stan and I will scamper over to our local garden center this week and for additional organic compost to augment our Super Soil and get those growies growing! By the end of Summer our own compost piles should be ready to sustain the gardens hereafter. It just takes a little while to get there.

Sunday, we planned out this year's garden – including more than usual. Definitely making time for canning this year. Had the equipment, not the time. Since warmth – and dry (drat!) – are coming early this year to the West, Southwest and Southeast, it's important to get our garden ready in February and seedlings sprouted and sunk in the ground by late March instead of late April – a full month ahead of normal. The most time-consuming aspect will getting the Super Soil pre-warmed as described in Garden Gold, which will only require a couple hours, so plants get a head start and beat this Summer's killing heat.

These NOAA maps show the probability of temperatures exceeding the norm, so roughly 1/3 of the Country can get their veggies and fruits in early. Unfortunately, as 2014 progresses, a bunch of us will be sweating bullets living in tank tops and shorts.

Click on the different NOAA 3-month outlooks (under More POE Outlooks) on the left to see how temps are revving up hotter and earlier this year. It's weird that after this blisteringly bitter cold winter, we have to think in terms of excessive heat, but that's what extreme climate change is about and something Stan and I have warned would descend since 1995. Now that it's here, everyone must act with fore-thought and planning. With what's coming, every day counts. —Holly

TAN DROUGHT KILLING THE GOLDEN STATE

Government has lost its mind. It is no more evident than their decision last week to cut off water to America's food basket. Squeezed by the worst-ever drought in the state's history, California is dying of thirst. Crushing news was delivered to farmers that no water would be coming from the Federal government. This dreaded decision was compounded by the Sierra Mountains getting just 25% of normal snowpack. There is no water to replenish already dangerously low reservoirs.


Photo: A pipe emerges from dried and cracked earth that used to be the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir on January 28, 2014 in San Jose, California. Now in its third straight year of drought conditions, California is experiencing its driest year on record, dating back 119 years, and reservoirs throughout the state have low water levels. Santa Clara County reservoirs are at 3% of capacity or lower. (Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)


Despite recent storms, it's done nothing to alleviate the staggering dryness. California needs snow. Desperately. Down bursts can't soak into parched, concrete-like soil so it rolls off, unused, into sewers and drainage ditches. Snowpack melts slowly and is easily funneled into reservoirs and sinks into land and eventually groundwater basins.

Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency 5 weeks ago and conditions have worsened since.

Farmers who thought this might be coming delayed planting crops. Some have given up altogether. Even late harvests, where possible, would be better than wasting the cost of fuel to run equipment, paying farm workers to work dying fields, paying for seeds that likely won't survive summer – and have it all come to nothing. Over half a million acres won't even be planted.

Not that anyone wants a business penalized, but golf courses will be allowed to waste water in the most extravagant method possible. What would you rather have: food on the table or 225,000 acres of lush golf links? The amount of water required to keep them verdant is staggering. Residential customers are already being warned to conserve and some cities have passed mandatory water restrictions. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that 17 communities are at risk of running dry.

Image: It's clear from the image below that regions of California worst hit and in danger of running out of water are the prime food growing areas.

http://www.activistpost.com/2014/02/how-to-beat-coming-killer-food-shortages.html

 

[Scientific Playa]

DROUGHT = SLOW DEATH


We saw this same scenario play out in Beulah, Colorado in 2002 – the year after Stan warned the Pine Drive Water District they needed vastly more water storage. They didn't listen. The very next year when residents turned on their faucets, literally not a drop dripped. So dire was the situation, it made national news. It was a shock to have literally no water available.

Huge white plastic water storage tanks were hastily set up in front yards and water was trucked in weekly from Pueblo. Wells went completely dry and livestock were reluctantly sold off. It was either that or watch them die.

The next Spring when Stan and I drove around Beulah, the wildlife took your breath. Most telling were larger animals. Baby deer that survived were unbelievably scrawny. Their mothers' ribs stuck out of their backs and sides from patchy coats like awkward jagged tree branches. Their faces were unhealthily gaunt, lit by haunted eyes. It was heartbreaking.

That was one small mountain community. Now we're talking about an entire state facing extreme conditions. Heaven help them in the 2014 fire season, which for Californians, began January.

PROMISES, PROMISES

Last week Pres. Obama promised $100 million in livestock-disaster aid, but that doesn't make water fall from the sky. This is less than a pittance when livestock and poultry alone gross nearly $10 billion in California.(1) Instead farmers, like Beulah residents, will be forced to sell their animals. This is a calamity. We're not talking about a few hundred head. On average, when drought conditions hammer down, like those in Texas a couple years ago, it takes at least 3 years to rebuild herds. This means further rising beef prices that we Americans are already experiencing. Just wait, it will get worse. I warned in 2010 what the Texas drought would do to beef prices in the next few coming years, and this story, Ground Beef Prices Have Skyrocketed, Here's Why. The article warns to expect steak to double.

Three weeks ago news agencies reported that beef herds are the smallest since 1951 – and this didn't factor in what will surely be a massive cattle sell-off in the Golden State.

Other crops feel it too. "Retail prices for tomatoes rose 10% in the 12 months through Jan. 31, and U.S. retail prices for beef, bacon, lettuce and broccoli have also risen at least 10% last year."(2) This hike came before farmers found out they won't be getting water for crops and 8 million California farmland acres depend on federal and state irrigation.

 

[Scientific Playa]

MEGA-DROUGHT, MEGA-DISASTER

In a stunning report from Time Magazine, Bryan Walsh writes that scientists fear California's dryness "could get much, much worse" bringing back the horrible era of mega-droughts. "These mega-droughts aren't predictions. They’re history, albeit from a time well before California was the land of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. And the thought that California and the rest of the modern West might have developed during what could turn out to be an unusually wet period is sobering. In 1930, a year before construction began on the Hoover Dam, just 5.6 million people lived in California. Today more than 38.2 million live in the largest state in the U.S., all of whom need water. California’s 80,500 farms and ranches produced crops and livestock worth $44.7 billion in 2012, but dry farming districts like the Central and Imperial Valleys would wither without irrigation."(3)


Image: According to the Drought Monitor, 91% of California is in Severe to Exceptional Drought. For comparison, the rest of CONUS looks much better except Nevada and they don't grow much of anything.

SQUEEZE PLAY

As one Millennium-Ark reader pointed out in an email last week, after the jump in beef prices, people will look to chicken, pork, fish and turkey. Chicken is already up though not as much as beef. This will, in turn, drive up their costs and affect availability of these other meats. Keep in mind that California also produces all of these proteins plus lamb. Then consider this: Ag Specialists Warn of Higher Wheat Prices Due to Drought. It's not just beef, weather is clobbering food from all angles. Rising Threat to Crops from Climate bears this out.

Not to be totally depressing, but remember to factor in possible health issues from the Corexit-ridden fish and seafood in the Gulf courtesy of BP's Deepwater Horizon debacle. Then there's Fukushima Daiichi's radiation affecting fish all up and down the West Coast.

Food production is not a national only issue. We export food around the world. In the grain arena, so does Argentina, Australia, Canada, the EU with India, Pakistan, Thailand, the U.S. and Viet Nam contributing to world rice production. Every – single – country is being hit with flood, heatwaves or drought.

Friends, serious climate issues are clobbering beef, grain, fruit and veggies – nearly all food – with unpleasant trickle-down repercussions coming. At this point, it doesn't matter if it's caused by geo-engineering, climate change (aka global warming), natural cycles or Sun-driven events. We must deal with the fallout and it's coming fast.

If you think the beef and grain scenario is bad, check what's happening in the fruit and veggie department.

CALIFORNIA'S GOLDEN BREAD BASKET

California grows half, HALF of America's produce. Another 13% is exported4 around the world. California's yearly produce is valued at more than $45 billion.(5) In the list below, out of some 400 different foods they grow for our Nation, California leads production for 79 of them. Out of these 79, California grows ALL of 14 crops (in bold). Keep in mind, this list is only 79 out of some 400 foods including sugar beets, mushrooms, oats, potatoes, cucumbers and many more.

Now scroll down to one very important item in the 4th column – Greenhouse Vegetables. These are the nicely potted vegetable, fruit and herb seedlings people purchase every year at building materials centers and nurseries around the Country. These are now at risk.

 

[Scientific Playa]

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, START YOUR SEEDS!

People who have never grown their garden plants from seed think it's hard and jet down to retailers to buy what they want to grow. There's nothing wrong with this; we've done it too. However, it is so much more economical – and fun – and easy – to start your own plants from seed.

For those that are interested in starting your seedlings this year, here are some practical reasons.

1. Most retailers don't offer non-hybrid, non-GMO, open-pollinated and heirloom plants.
2. It saves a bunch of money in the long run.
3. Allows a head start on the growing season. Retailers normally have their veggies and fruits for sale on a predictable timetable not taking into account yearly climatic differences. It's possible to lose weeks in the growing season.
4. Get what you want. Last spring, some plants we wanted, like romaine, NuMex chilies and red lettuce, sold out early. Due to the economy, some veggies were completely unavailable as they only stocked the most popular. Additionally, we noticed that Lowe's and Home Depot didn't carry as extensive a variety as they normally do.
5. Avoid greenhouse-borne diseases
6. This is a fun project for kids and grandkids – a good educational tool so they see how plants make food from seed to table.

Assuming you see the need to get busy, this is the set-up we use.


Photo: From top left, clockwise: seed tray bottom, lights set into the plastic dome cover, seed tray, heating mat.

Seeds don't need sunlight to sprout, but do need warmth around the clock. We set the Seedling Heat Mat on a 1" piece of styrofoam. The foam both protects the tabletop and keeps the warmth from escaping out the bottom. The heat mat keeps the soil temperature consistent and 10-20 degrees warmer over room temperature air. They’re relatively inexpensive and really improve germination and seedling growth.

The bottom tray goes on top of the mat with the little seedling plastic pots set inside. Depending on how many seedlings are needed, it's more economical to do these plastic pots in a sheet than peat pots. It's cleanable and reusable. If you're only going to start 20 or so plants, then peat pots save washing it out.

The Seedling Heat Mat (9” x 19-1/2”) and lights are extra. Mats are about $20 and grow lights are about $21 each, but vary widely in price depending on retailer.

Then the clear plastic greenhouse dome cover sits on top with its edges resting on the sides of the bottom tray. Stan puts aluminum foil between the dome and the metal so it doesn't turn the plastic an ugly yellow-brown. The yellowing problem we found out the hard way and ruined one dome. No place mentions this tip – and others – except in Garden Gold.

It's important to get a greenhouse that has a high enough dome cover. Some kits' covers are only about 2" or 3" tall. We use the Mondi 7" dome (7-1/2” H x 11” W x 21-1/4” L) that sells for $4.60 and fits the 1020 tray. As the seedlings grow, if the lights become too close, they can burn tender leaves and suck the life out of tiny plants. Stan has even put in a set of 2" or 3" risers at each end between the dome and the bottom tray if the seedlings grew too tall. Risers can be made out of anything that's not too heavy, just strong enough to support the dome and not break the bottom tray's lip. The 1020 Tray runs $1.40 and the 72-cell propagation tray that fits perfectly inside is $9 for 10.


Photo: This is how it looks assembled – all ready for 72 seedlings waiting fill your food needs!

Some seed starter kits come without the plastic tops, but you need the dome to both hold the lights and keep moisture in. On top are two circles for moisture control. They can be opened or closed as needed.

Simply setting planted seeds in a window won't provide enough light once the seedlings sprout. Plus, windows can get transmit cold, which can either delay or stop germination altogether and defeats the purpose of the heat mat.

Stan cut holes in the ends toward the top of the greenhouse dome and inserted 4 grow lights that are 2 feet long. We use Sun Blaster F24T5 24W HO lights. If you're looking on-line for the best price, they are normally listed as "Sun Blaster T5 HO". Gave a cursory look and the best price so far was at GroswersHouse.com: growershouse.com/sun-blaster-t5-ho-fluorescent-strip-light-2.

 

[Scientific Playa]

GETTING SEEDY

NOW is the time to purchase open pollinated, organic, non-genetically engineered seeds. When we ordered onion sets last week, I noticed there were already a few products on Seeds of Change that had sold out or were temporarily sold out. People are getting on the stick early this year!

You'll get further savings from companies that offer seed in bulk. This is a smart purchase for the foods you love. We did this several years ago and now have our own seed bank.

Here are 4 great resources – ones we use – for open pollinated, heirloom seeds:

1. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds – rareseeds.com
2. Fedco Seeds – fedcoseeds.com
3. John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds – kitchengardenseeds.com
4. Seeds of Change – seedsofchange.com

If they don't have what you want, Garden Gold lists over 350 suppliers with their contact information and websites. You'll spend less time hunting for open-pollinated seeds and supplies, which leaves you more time to get your plants going.

NO COLORADO DOPE, JUST THE STRAIGHT SKINNY

I'm no mystic, but I do see what's coming down. It will be hurtful – possibly signaling prophetic bells to remind of us of Revelation's 3rd Seal. ALL of our food is being squeezed one way or another. Just after I placed that short note Sunday on our website about getting the garden going, within 15 minutes a dozen people wrote saying they feel that same pressing urgency.

For many fruits and veggies, you can greatly lessen the pain at the grocery store simply by starting (or continuing) your home gardens. While community gardens and farmer's markets are preferable to depending on the grocery stores and getting 'robbed' at check out, it's best to have fruits and veggies right in your own yard. As they say with precious metals, if it's not in your hand you don't own it.

You can harvest so much in such little space by using the ancient Chinese technique of bio-intensive growing described in Garden Gold. You will have produce running out your ears. There will be enough to can or sell depending on your family size. Whatever method of gardening you choose, get your beds ready soon.

Now for the beef and other proteins dilemma; if you have a spare freezer, it would behoove you to stock up now before prices shoot up further. You would easily be money ahead to purchase a freezer and stock that baby till it's ready to burst. Alternately, look at some freeze-dried meats. The last time we checked, the food price bump had not yet hit this industry. Why? Because they literally buy tons of meats at a time and process same until they nearly run out. Then they take the hit on food prices and pass it onto customers. However, we the grocery store consumer, feels every bump and tickle along the way. There is a window of opportunity here…

We caution you to buy from only reputable, long-established retailers. It's questionable for some smaller outfits where they got their foods, especially if they are a new name. One company is selling food that was around at least since 1998 and has been repackaged to look new. This is a smaller, lesser-known company, so stay with the power names for best freshness: Mountain House, Alpine Aire, Thrive (Shelf Reliance). Read What They Don't Tell You About Storable Foods for more insight. Also check these reviews: Mountain House, Provident Pantry / Emergency Essentials, Shelf Reliance / Thrive, Wise, EFoods Direct.

Don't miss my next article coming shortly: How to Start Your Own Seed Bank.

Notes:

1. A Look at California Agriculture, November 2012, agclassroom.org/kids/stats/california.pdf
2. California Farm Drought Crisis Deepens, By Andria Cheng, MarketWatch, Feb. 22, 2014; marketwatch.com/story/california-farm-drought-crisis-deepens-2014-02-22-16103424
3. California Drought: Water Supply Could Tighten in Mega Droughts, By Bryan Walsh, Time Magazine, Jan. 23, 2014; http://science.time.com/2014/01/23/...alifornias-drought-could-get-much-much-worse/
4. California Agricultural Exports, University of California Agricultural Issues Center, cdfa.ca.gov/statistics/PDFs/2013/Export.pdf
5. California Agricultural Statistics, www.cdfa.ca.gov/statistics/
6. California Agricultural Statistics 2012 Crop Year, USDA, pg. 1, nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/California_Ag_Statistics/Reports/2012cas-all.pdf

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Holly Drennan Deyo is the author of three books: bestseller Dare To Prepare (4th ed.), Prudent Places USA (3rd ed.) and Garden Gold (2nd ed.) Please visit she and her husband's website: standeyo.com and their FREE Preparedness site: DareToPrepare.com.

 

[Hawaiian Punch]

Subs. No more conspiracy folks, it's everywhere for you to see. Keep listening to those talking heads, still in denial. shyt is getting real, but people keep sleeping. Y'all want it to be one way, but it's the other way.

 

[Liquid]

I haven't been able to keep up with this. How serious is this?

I am comfortable with growing my own shyt already as I learned at a young age from my grandma back in Jersey

 

[Crakface]

*shrug*

Gotta house in China. Im good. Good luck yall.

 

[FaTaL]

subs

 

[Everythingg]

*shrug*

Gotta house in China. Im good. Good luck yall.

You can run but you cant hide. This stuff aint happening for no reason my brethren.

 

[Crakface]

You can run but you cant hide. This stuff aint happening for no reason my brethren.

Live around people whove been living off their property for centuries bruh. We good.

I get it though. White Supremacists gotta pull the plug so they dont get flushed. It is what it is.

You could you know, fill up tanks and tanks worth of tap water right now. Yall wont though so how worried are you really?

 

[Crakface]

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-rain-20140226,0,4200760.story#axzz2uPHCUjZV
Heavy rains are expected to end L.A.'s long dry spell
Weather forecasters say two storms are heading this way, with the first arriving Wednesday night. Although a welcome relief, the rain won't be enough to bust the drought.

• 

Glendora residents fill sandbags outside a city maintenance yard to prepare for possible mudslides and flooding from two storms that are expected to bring heavy rains this week. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times / February 25, 2014)

By Hector Becerra, Ari Bloomekatz and Ruben Vives
February 25, 2014, 9:10 p.m.


It's poor form to complain about rain, even a whole lot of it, when you really need it.

So Southern Californians will just have to grin and bear it beginning Wednesday night when the first of two major storms is forecast to move into the region.

The storms are expected to deliver the most rainfall since spring 2011. They come as Southern California and most of the state struggles through a historically dry stretch. Last year was the driest calendar year in L.A.'s recorded history. Since the beginning of the rain year in July, only 1.2 inches of rain has fallen in downtown L.A. Now it's going to rain — a lot — with more than four inches possible in some valley and foothill areas from the second storm.

"It's been almost three years since we've had rain like this," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. "This is not a February or March miracle, but any rain is sweet because everything is so dry."

The possibility of so much rain in such a short period of time has firefighters, public works and law enforcement officials girding for the inevitable problems: traffic congestion, accidents and possible mudslides. "We haven't had weather in a while," said L.A. County Fire Department Inspector Tony Akins.

Although the rain is badly needed, it would take several seasons of above-normal rainfall to bust the drought gripping California.

The state has seen below-normal rainfall 11 of the last 15 years, making dry weather the norm over an extraordinarily long period, he said. Even if L.A. got two inches of rain from the coming storms, the city would still be only about 30% to 40% of normal for this time of the year.

Stuart Seto, a weather specialist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said the storm that hits the region Friday could linger through Monday, with the heaviest rain likely to fall Friday morning and afternoon.

The rain should help replenish some groundwater storage basins, bring temporary relief to desiccated foothill areas that are prone to wildfires and add snow to mountain areas. It'll also bring complications.

Law enforcement and fire officials expect an uptick in traffic accidents as the long-awaited rain mixes with accumulated oil on roadways to create extra-slick surfaces. The risk of vehicles hydroplaning and crashing increases under these conditions.

Like many agencies, the L.A. County Fire Department is keeping close tabs with the National Weather Service to determine staffing and strategy, Akins said.

"We're in constant communication with the National Weather Service as part of our routine operations," he said.

Akins said inmate crews at fire camps are prepared to respond to a variety of potential issues, such as mudslides, debris flows and flooding. Areas that have been razed by wildfires, such as the hills above Glendora, are especially vulnerable because fire renders the ground moisture averse, causing rainfall to rush downhill, rather than soak into the soil. Akins said fire stations will pass out sandbags to residents who need them.

Glendora City Manager Chris Jeffers said the city has a system to alert residents when they need to evacuate or take other actions. He said the city is in contact with weather and county fire officials, the L.A. County Flood Control District, the U.S. Forest Service, police and other agencies.

Jeffers said the Colby fire, which scorched nearly 2,000 acres last month, had "severely damaged" the hills above Glendora.

"The fire and severity are very reminiscent of the 1968 fires, which led to the horrific debris and mudflows in 1969," he said. "More damage was incurred to property as a result of the 1969 mudflows than the fire itself."

Jeffers said the forecasts don't suggest "substantial negative impact on the burn areas" from the first storm. But he said the city is more wary of the second round, which is expected to include thunderstorms.

"This is the storm that has us concerned at this point," Jeffers said.

He said that county flood control officials have helped the city survey residents in the burn area, visiting about 150 homes to offer advice on how to mitigate risks to their property. They have also visited about 60 residents who might need assistance in case of an evacuation order, Jeffers said.

Patzert of JPL said one of the problems that occur during heavy rains after prolonged dry spells is that storm sewers which haven't been flushed out can get overwhelmed. Some flooding is possible even in urban areas, he said.

With the rains coming, law enforcement officials are warning motorists to slow down on streets and freeways and to clean gutters. And county Supervisor Don Knabe reminded people that they also need to shut off their sprinkler systems.

"Your yard won't need to be watered until later next week," he said. "At the very least."



http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-rain-20140226,0,4200760.story#ixzz2uPHMDIkk

 

[Everythingg]

Live around people whove been living off their property for centuries bruh. We good.

I get it though. White Supremacists gotta pull the plug so they dont get flushed. It is what it is.

You could you know, fill up tanks and tanks worth of tap water right now. Yall wont though so how worried are you really?

America is doomed breh. One would be smart to look for the right time to bail if it does come to that

And I dont think taking tanks and tanks of water would help me in that endeavor. Not to mention, living in a city People will turn on each other in a second in this type of crisis.

 

[Wild self]

America is doomed breh. One would be smart to look for the right time to bail if it does come to that

And I dont think taking tanks and tanks of water would help me in that endeavor. Not to mention, living in a city People will turn on each other in a second in this type of crisis.

Imagine the gentrified cities that have hipsters in it, that suddenly turn savage

 

[Everythingg]

Imagine the gentrified cities that have hipsters in it, that suddenly turn savage

It will be a sad sight man. Hopefully a sight I dont have to experience but that is not in my hands. Im pretty sure this will catch people off guard especially those that are not paying attention