Already Reeling from Flooding and Heat Waves, Farmers Struggle as Coronavirus Pandemic Takes Hold | The Weather Channel
https://weather.com/health/coronavirus/news/2020-04-01-farms-struggle-amid-coronavirus-pandemic
How coronavirus threatens the seasonal farmworkers at the heart of the American food supply
https://theconversation.com/how-coronavirus-threatens-the-seasonal-farmworkers-at-the-heart-of-the-american-food-supply-135252
Yeah... just convinced a friend to stock up based on this.
As per your other link, grocery sales are decreasing (though you still can't get eggs, rice, flour, pasta etc.) and so I think we'll have a time when things will be more available than they are now, but then the supply chain might get hit by closed borders and so forth. Thinking forward to that, I broke isolation yesterday and went to the grocery store and spent $500 even though I could have stayed away for another few weeks.
Also am willing to spend 2X for things like flour and oatmeal if I can find them. I did notice that in general, if you want to spend a fortune on gluten-free organic products, the shelves are still mostly full! I have my limits though. I won't pay more for rolled oats than I would pay for a fine cheese (saw some at $19/pound).
I heard an interview with a farmer a couple years ago who said (roughly from memory): "Don't kid yourselves. You have a choice. Your food will be picked in the US by a Mexican or in Mexico by a Mexican. Those are your two choices. As it becomes harder for us to bring in immigrant labor, we're buying up land in Mexico and moving our farming operations there."
So even if you can bring in the labor, "high-touch" crops just aren't grown in the US much anymore.
Some people are saying it will be like when we were kids and things will only be available in season. But it won't be. I grew up with all kinds of fruit and vegetable farmers in Vermont where we would have these ridiculously short seasons for things like strawberries and asparagus.
Now, lots of those fields are growing houses and Home Depots, which are very hard to eat without lots of condiment.
You'd better learn to like soybeans, corn, wheat, potatoes, & peanuts. I think our farms around here can process those without much field labor. But cabbage, for instance, takes field workers 3 times over the course of producing a single crop. I'm not familiar with local berries or other produce like asparagus, but I did hear some farms gave them up in the past (asparagus, in particular) because they were a PITA labor-wise.
>high-touch
The truck farms around our major metro areas are largely gone. There are houses built where those fields were or the remaining fields have switched to grain.
Egg farms require a boatload of cheap labor, though it's not field labor. And we've already seen the effects of ICE on the meat processing industry.
Quote from: rcjordan on April 03, 2020, 04:41:45 PM
wheat, potatoes, & peanuts. I think our farms around here can process those without much field labor.
Perhaps, but those are among the hardest things to find at a grocery store currently. They had potatoes some yesterday because they limit people to one bag per customer. At least in the short term, flour, potatoes and peanut butter are challenging to find.
Oh and yeast is hard to find. If you don't have your own starter, it's hard to make your own bread currently.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden
I'm buying up instant mashed potato flakes.
>Victory Garden
We've tried gardening, Mackin. We suck at it. A couple of bird-pecked tomatoes ain't gonna cut it.
elsewhere> "Everything that seems excessive today won't seem like enough tomorrow."
This is what drives me now. So what if I end up with a couple of cases of canned corn? I'll donate it to the Food Bank ...or whatever organization is left standing.
"Even the honeybees normally imported from other countries to pollinate Canadian crops could become harder to source"
CAN: Food security experts warn of supply shortages, higher prices due to global pandemic
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/food-security-covid19-trudeau-1.5520492
https://www.reddit.com/r/supplychain/comments/fu5wux/covid19_updates_friday_3rd_april/
QuoteCovid-19 is about to reach US farms in a major test for food supply chains - Quartz reports that one of the largest farmworker unions in the US says early polling of farm laborers suggests operators of some of the nation's largest fresh produce farms aren't taking steps to protect fieldworkers from the spread of Covid-19. That's worrying news for a food supply chain that experts, so far, have described as robust and resilient in the face of the disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The nature of how the coronavirus spreads—from person to person, through droplets from coughs or sneezes, and transferred on surfaces—means that outbreaks have concentrated first in densely-populated urban and suburban zones. But it will reach rural farming areas on a delay (a pdf is available), according to data collected (and visualized over time which is quite eye catching) by the University of Iowa's Rural Policy Research Institute.
Also:
QuoteArgentina beef shipments to EU, China stall amid virus - Shipments of beef from Argentina's famed cattle ranches to the European Union have plunged to almost zero amid the global coronavirus outbreak, while sales to top buyer China have tumbled from last year's levels, industry officials told Reuters. The slump in exports underscores how the pandemic is affecting global food supply chains, with demand dented by widespread closures of restaurants and transportation of goods stymied by measures to control the virus' spread.
>Victory Garden
RC: we suck at it also BUT our next door neighbor is excellent and we have a DEAL :-)
"In Florida, a lack of Mexican migrant laborers means watermelon and blueberry growers face the prospect of rotting crops. Similar shortages of workers in Europe mean vegetable farms are missing the window to plant."
Coronavirus Upends Global Food Supply Chains in Latest Economic Shock
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-04-03/coronavirus-upends-global-food-supply-chains-in-latest-economic-shock
-----------------
Farmers Dump Milk in Latest Blow to Battered U.S. Dairy - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-02/farmers-are-dumping-milk-in-latest-blow-to-battered-u-s-dairy
Read an interesting article (sorry, don't have the link handy) on the toilet paper problem. It's not just hoarding and the problem is not going to go away soon.
The basic problem is they can ramp up production and distribution 20%, but demand is up 40%. This is because the commercial and the residential markets are completely separate. Different products. Different supply chains. Different contracts. Different packaging. Getting commercial TP into grocery stores is not a fast process.
Meanwhile, because lots of us used to crap at work, at restaurants, at gas stations and so forth and use commercial paper, but we're all doing it at home now, demand is way up for the home-grade stuff. And in this case, commercial-grade does not indicate a better product ;-)
Makes sense, particularly if you've ever ordered TP by the case for your businesses. I wonder how Quill is doing on TP? And somebody locally mentioned that Office Max had a good stock while the local grocery stores were out.
I keep wondering about sales of bidet add-on units for the toilet. Seems to me local plumbers ought to buy up a bunch and offer installation specials. Might be too late for that now.
Coronavirus may cause some food shortages, warns government task force
https://www.news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-may-cause-some-food-shortages-says-government-document-223308504.html
After my warning email, one daughter said she had bought some dry goods back when the panic first hit. She's ramping up now to increase her stocks. She's short on bread substitutes, so I told her to look for (Brad's idea) pancake mix that just adds water. She's not a prepper usually, so here's the guidance I gave her so she'd get going;
"I do not see this as a total collapse where people literally starve to death. But I DO think that the food shortages that we are having now are going to return after a brief period of respite. I'm suggesting that you use your current grocery-ninja skills to keep building your basic, stable pantry goods. If we do have a period of easier access, use it to double down."
Here's another solution: Many commercial food suppliers that serve the restaurant trade have outlet stores for the public. Most are offering curbside pickup.
For instance, I could get a case of 24 loaves of bread dough. Thaw, let raise and bake. Now I don't have freezer space for a case but if I went in with neighbors and split it up I could.
https://gfsstore.com/
Also, there are some home delivery outfits that sell their own products. The example here is Schwan's which has frozen foods.
https://www.schwans.com/
Now these companies might not be in your area, but there maybe something similar near you.
Seafood industry struggling to stay afloat amid outbreak - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/seafood-industry-struggling-stay-afloat-amid-outbreak-69984771
>commercial food suppliers that serve the restaurant trade
There are a couple produce suppliers in the area that have started selling their stock to consumers. If you want a 50 lb bag of potatoes for $15 or a 30 pound bag of onions it is a great option. I might grab a bag of potatoes. A local high end steak restaurant has also put all their meat in the freezer and is selling it to the public.
I have a small excavator so I started work on a root cellar to be able to stock more food.
Coronavirus claims an unexpected victim: Florida vegetables - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/coronavirus-claims-unexpected-victim-florida-vegetables-70041972
Meat plants are shutting down as workers get sick - CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/08/business/meat-plant-closures-coronavirus/index.html
Debbie is raising the food supply issue to DEFCON 3.
Global Food Exports Get Paralyzed by Growing Problems for Ports - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-09/it-s-getting-a-lot-harder-to-ship-food-around-the-world
More meat plants close as employee coronavirus outbreaks grow | Food Dive
https://www.fooddive.com/news/more-meat-plants-close-as-employee-coronavirus-outbreaks-grow/575752/
The Farm-to-Table Connection Comes Undone - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/dining/farm-to-table-coronavirus.html
Why grocery shelves won't be empty for long
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200401-covid-19-why-we-wont-run-out-of-food-during-coronavirus
>Why grocery shelves won't be empty for long
Search on "farm" in that article and see how many times it is mentioned.
TL;DR: 0
"Farmers need around 70,000 seasonal workers to make sure crops are picked throughout the year, most of whom usually arrive from the EU.
While a major hiring drive to 'Feed the Nation' during the coronavirus crisis has had more than 27,000 applicants, only around 4,300 of them have taken up the offer of an interview so far."
UK facing food shortages unless more people take jobs on farms
https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/09/farmers-fear-food-shortages-summer-recruitment-drive-falls-short-12532176/
I'm growing a big garden this year so I have enough to can food. I also got 3 more hens and have some eggs in the incubator for some more.
I've also been making masks for people. I went to the doctor and so impressed the staff with the mask I was wearing that they asked me to make 50 more. I plan to crank out 100.
It's a bitch to find elastic, so I'm making mine with ties, although, wide double bind tape is also getting difficult to find.
I'm so tired of this. I have a feeling this will be the new norm through the beginning of the year.
>I plan to crank out 100.
Nice!
>It's a b###h to find elastic
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086JXPR2C/
My wife is using this stuff to make her masks.
>I'm so tired of this....new norm
Yep, that's all of us.
Being someone with land and farm skills is uncommon these days. I'm a bit envious about your hens, all I can do is stock up on what I can.
QuoteI'm a bit envious about your hens, all I can do is stock up on what I can.
Yes I am not allowed hens :)
got the lettuce/tomatoes/kale/cabbage red and white/squash/spinach/brussels/leeks/carrots/peas and broccoli going.
On and sunflowers and petunias for a bit of colour. not done this for years, quite excited.
>can food
This sounds very wise.
Gardens in general sound wise right now.
I might consider some container gardening. Especially potatoes which grow well in pots.
https://vandaandeddie.uk/growing-vegetables-in-containers/
>eggs
When supplies reappear, one thing I intend to get is a bunch of long term storage cans of dehydrated eggs and squirrel them away.
Truckers warn supply chain in jeopardy - The Lima News
https://www.limaohio.com/top-stories/406286/truckers-warn-supply-chain-in-jeopardy
One of the largest pork processing facilities in the US is closing until further notice - CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/12/business/meat-plant-closures-smithfield/index.html
Smithfield shutting U.S. pork plant indefinitely, warns of meat shortages during pandemic - Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-meatpacking/smithfield-shutting-u-s-pork-plant-indefinitely-warns-of-meat-shortages-during-pandemic-idUSKCN21U0O7
Flour is getting hard to come by, I am hoping its just preppers buying it all up, not an ongoing issue. We started out with a good about here, but Jen keeps baking bread for friends and family. I'd like to get another 150lbs.
Talking to my seniors in recent days has been stressful.
"How's your food supply?"
"I have enough for now"
"How's your dry goods?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oatmeal, beans, rice"
"I have a box of instant oatmeal, a couple of cans of beans, about two cups of rice."
(that was my mother)
I want each of their houses to have enough for three months, they just aren't thinking like that. My Dad and his wife keep turning down help.
Yesterday was all about getting food and distributing it to elders -- it took all day. First stop was to the Asian grocery store. I bought 130lb of rice, they wanted to stop me at 100lb but I told them that I'm buying for three households and that they were all seniors. After that I went to my mother's, dropped off 50lb of rice and some frozen veggies. Then went to a scheduled pickup at a supermarket two towns away, got a good haul there. Then we went to the in-laws and dropped off 80lb of rice and a bunch of other stuff. Four hours later we're home and dividing up the rest with our neighbor. Our neighbor is in her 70s and takes care of her mother.
Finally, after all that we take time to sort the goods we're keeping into the let it sit in the garage pile and the disinfect pile before putting them away.
You're going to have to warehouse for them. That's what I'm doing for my brother. I'm also letting him experience
'pseudo-shortages" that I conjure up for a couple of days. This is to keep him from becoming too complacent.
<+>
The good news is that oldsters don't have to eat much to stay alive. At 70, I'm shocked by just how much my metabolism has dropped.
Quote from: littleman on April 12, 2020, 09:45:35 PM
Flour is getting hard to come by
How price-sensitive are you?
https://amzn.to/3efo8dp -- affiliate links, of course ;-)
King Arthur Sir Galahad All-Purpose.
$110 for 50 pounds
Arrives April 16-21
https://amzn.to/2XtmwXl
General Mills GM All Purpose Flour 50lb
Price: $96.00 ($1.92 / Pound) & FREE Shipping
Arrives April 22-29 (as early as April 17 with paid shipping)
And... just for the aburdity of it
https://amzn.to/2JXb9Pp
General Mills Gold Medal
All Trumps High Gluten Flour, 50 Pound
Price: $88.84 ($0.11 / Ounce) & FREE Shipping
Arrives April 17-21
For not that much more, go organic
https://amzn.to/34tt9KX
Cooper's Best Organic All-Purpose Flour 50lb Bag | Best Baking Flour | Non-Gritty Texture | Heartland Gourmet | Made in USA
Price: $112.00 ($0.14 / Ounce) & FREE Shipping
So far, the food I have ordered via Amazon has arrived earlier than predicted when I purchased it.
Thanks for doing the digging. We're a bit price sensitive. I've thought about ordering online, but the cost just goes against my sensibilities.
I don't eat that much bread, but I do have plenty of wheat to grind if I do.
I've mostly stopped eating meat, but the pond is stocked with fish.
There is also a micro dairy (3 jerseys and a herd of goats) for milk nearby.
I'm also going to plant cabbage for trading. (Lots of Germans here who LOVE fresh cabbage to make bierochs.)
Sadly, this late freeze will probably kill any chances of cherries and Sandhill plums. Pears and apples might be ok though.
I think we might get bored of eating the same things over and over. But we will have food to eat.
How do you keep dry beans (lentils etc) somewhat fresh?
Do I just use a food sealer and freeze them?
>pseudo-shortages
I get the logic, but I'd rather not go there.
>The good news is that oldsters don't have to eat much to stay alive.
Yeah that's I blessing I guess.
>How do you keep dry beans
It isn't humid here, but I've been able to keep dried beans in a sealed bag for over a year without noticing any change in taste or quality.
>for trading
I got a small egg incubator to make more baby chicks.
To give away but possibly also for trading if needed later on.
Demand for hens is high in my area now.
>wheat to grind
A friend who is a shepherd bought only one thing extra to prepare .. an agricultural cereal grinder to make flour.
Allowing him to buy mais and cereals directly from farmers as he is used to doing for his animals.
>hens
We have 2 chicken coops here but haven't gotten around to getting any chicks or hens in the 2 years we have lived here. Really makes me wish we would have. I did get eggs at Costco over the weekend and they were the cheapest I have ever seen them there surprisingly. Less than half of what they were at the grocery store.
Meat counter was somewhat sparse this morning, Cyprus, big Pork place. Not worried yet as was a Monday and the supermarkets just recently closed Sundays. Will keep an eye on it though.
>hens
My feeds say there has been a run on laying hens and they are scarce now.
>pork
See the name "Smithfield" upstream? That's one of our pork product mega-factories. Having that go down is like having Denmark out of pork in EU.
Smithfield closes plant representing 4-5% of US pork production after workers test positive for COVID-19 | Supply Chain Dive
https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/coronavirus-smithfield-plant-close/575903/
U.S. 'Perilously Close' to Meat Shortage After Smithfield Pork Plant Closes | Time
https://time.com/5819878/smithfield-pork-plant-closes-coronavirus/
Former Agriculture Secretary: 'Cascading series of events' disrupting the US food chain | TheHill
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/492609-former-agriculture-secretary-cascading-series-of-events-disrupting-the-us-food
What Matters: It's time to talk more seriously about the food supply - CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/politics/what-matters-april-13/index.html
Farmers are throwing out food that could go to food banks. American Farm Bureau and Feeding America want to change that (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/farmers-are-throwing-out-food-that-could-go-to-food-banks-american-farm-bureau-and-feeding-america-want-to-change-that/ar-BB12zZgT)
I understand why they are throwing it out: they don't get paid to harvest and ship all that food too food banks.
More simply put, it costs money to harvest. Better to cut your losses and use the crop as a cover crop to enhance the soil for the next cash crop instead.
Seed companies can't keep up as more Americans turn to growing their own food
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-seeds-americans-grow-food/
Now it's serious. No bacon!
Smithfield Foods shuts US bacon, ham plants as coronavirus hits meat sector
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/smithfield-foods-shuts-us-bacon-ham-plants-as-coronavirus-hits-meat-sector/ar-BB12GIow
Some folks are breeding their own bacon cheeseburgers.
Canada: Pandemic could affect food supplies, power grids, telecommunications, says government document | CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/labour-shortages-emergency-food-power-1.5531583
You're living amid a U.S. megadrought
https://mashable.com/article/megadrought-western-united-states-climate-change/
>Smithfield Foods shuts US bacon
Hopefully that means more fresh pork bellies on the market. Homemade bacon is a thing if beauty.
Lots of practical advice on the longevity of various foods (https://www.nytimes.com/article/expiration-dates-coronavirus.html)
tl;dr
whiter-equals-longer-life
white flour is good for years
whole-wheat/whole-grain flour only a few months
white rice = years; brown rice months
The reason, fats in the unrefined grains go rancid.
vinegars, honey, vanilla or other extracts, sugar, salt, corn syrup and molasses will last forever.
regular steel-cut or rolled oats year
instant oats can last nearly forever
Shelf-stable supermarket breads can stay soft for weeks in the fridge.
Homemade bread usually a week.
Dried beans and lentils will remain safe to eat for years, but will take longer to cook with age.
Spices lose thier potency with age.
Canned fruits, vegetables and meats will stay good for years (or even decades)and should be fine as long as the cans and their content look and smell OK.
Oils in cans should last for decades; don't use if it stinks.
Salad dressings will last for months, years if in the fridge.
Mustard lasts forever, Ketchup a year, Mayonnaise a while.
Eggs could last for 60 days in the fridge.
Look for "ultrahigh temperature" or "UHT" milk if you want to extend its life.
Baby food should be good for a very long time.
>baby food
I saw a tip on /r/frugal that bears repeating in this prepper thread ...use a garlic press to mash/squish vegetables as-needed for baby food.
Defcon 2
Beef processors are closing U.S. plants, warn of beef shortages and hoarding
https://theweek.com/speedreads/909359/beef-processors-are-closing-plants-warn-beef-shortages-hoarding
This morning, I've seen 3 or 4 local news reports of mid-size meat processors shutting down ...Hormel, Tysons, etc.
I think LM tipped us off about https://aprbiotech.com/
I just ordered some hand sanitizer from them for both myself and for my mother. They were very good about answering some shipping questions I had prior to sale.
I like that their sanitizer is supposed to remain effective on your hands for 4 hours.
Anyway they have some back in stock.
Meatpacking plants across the country are closing production as coronavirus continues its spread and infects and kills workers at facilities experiencing outbreaks, McClatchy News reported.
Experts have said supply has been able to hold on despite loss of production thus far, but that it won't last long.
"You could shut multiple plants down for a day or two, and we've got wiggle room to handle that," Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University agriculture economist, told the AP. "But if you took four or five of those big plants ... and they had to be down for two weeks, then you've got a game changer."
Pork plant's closure will cause 'significant ramifications' to supplies, Tyson says | Belleville News-Democrat
https://www.bnd.com/news/nation-world/national/article242203371.html
-------------
COVID-19 Cases Now Tied to Meat Plants in Rural Texas Counties Wracked with Coronavirus
https://www.texasobserver.org/east-texas-coronavirus-chicken/
Pandemic could mean 260 million people worldwide 'marching toward starvation' (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/pandemic-could-mean-260-million-people-worldwide-marching-toward-starvation)
US: Mapping Covid-19 in meat and food processing plants | Food and Environment Reporting Network
https://thefern.org/2020/04/mapping-covid-19-in-meat-and-food-processing-plants/
Another Big Meat (Beef) Plant Shutters With U.S. on Brink of Shortages - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-23/tyson-halts-pasco-plant-production-to-test-workers-for-covid-19
----------
Meat-Shortage Risk Climbs With 25% of U.S. Pork Capacity Offline - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-22/tyson-foods-to-indefinitely-suspend-waterloo-operations-k9bbgnr9
Moving beyond meat-packing...
Frozen foods plant stops production due to virus outbreak | democratherald.com
https://democratherald.com/news/state-and-regional/frozen-foods-plant-stops-production-due-to-virus-outbreak/article_ba513eb1-8d31-5f63-952d-99a229cc66bf.html
Quote from: Brad on April 22, 2020, 12:45:10 AM
I think LM tipped us off about https://aprbiotech.com/
I ordered some too. In poking around, they are not on the EPA list and the CDC does not recommend them. Meanwhile, another company that also makes a product that uses Benzalkonium Chloride has done tests and says that it does kill SARS-COVID-2, but did their tests using a surrogate strain and it will likely be the end of the year before the research appears in a peer-reviewed journal and can be reviewed by the CDC.
Research on BKC
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195670120300463
CDC statement
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/hand-hygiene-faq.html#r2
EPA listing for BKC
- https://iaspub.epa.gov/sor_internet/registry/substreg/searchandretrieve/advancedsearch/externalSearch.do?p_type=SRSITN&p_value=156943
EPA registry for approved coronavirus disinfectants (use number 8001-54-5 for BKC)
- https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2#filter_col1
"EXCLUSIVE: Sanitizer opposed by CDC kills coronavirus "surrogate" in lab tests"
- https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/exclusive-sanitizer-opposed-by-cdc-kills-coronavirus-surrogate-in-lab-tests
>Benzalkonium Chloride
I use it as defense in depth. I treat hands with the APRBiotech product before going out in public for it's 4 hour effect in general germ kill. But I still carry and use alcohol based hand santizer while out just as if I had not used the APR product. I wash hands immediately upon returning home with soap and water.
I look at the BC based sanitizer as an additional layer of protection especially since alcohol based sanitizers are still in short supply.
Note: you can get alcohol hand santizers on Amazon, but they all have dubious brand names made up by somebody who does not speak English. I don't trust those to be effective or have the ingredients claimed on the label. All the name brand sanitizers are reserved for medical professionals.
America's (industrial)meat problems are about to get worse
https://theweek.com/speedreads/916461/americas-meat-problems-are-about-worse
I find it kinda hard to enjoy meat when workers at the pants are dying. We stocked up before hand and I'm eating more of a flexitarian diet these days.