Another Key Shortage: Fertilizer

Corn prices may hit record high this year

(NEWSER) - American farmers had been planning the biggest corn planting since World War II this spring, but they're being thwarted by a seed shortage. Drought conditions in the Midwest and Great Plains last year have caused what dealers in the corn belt say is the biggest shortage of top-quality seeds they've ever seen, the Wall Street Journal finds. Corn prices hit a record $8 a bushel last spring, and commodities brokers say another disappointing crop this year could send prices as high as $10. More»

Due to chemical runoff from farms along the Mississippi

(NEWSER) - Chemical runoff from farms along the Mississippi create “dead zones” each year in the Gulf of Mexico—areas where nitrogen, phosphorus, and animal manure settle, feeding the algae that steals the oxygen from all other living things. This year’s record flooding will likely lead to the biggest dead zone ever, the New York Times reports. The government has pinpointed nine states as the major source of the problem, and environmental advocates have long called for regulation. But despite federal pressure, the states have done little, much to the chagrin of their neighbors downstream. More»

(NEWSER) - A falloff in demand and an end to subsidies has tobacco farmers across the country turning to the vino, the Wall Street Journal reports—farming grapes and making wine, that is. “The small-plot tobacco farmer is a thing of the past,” says a North Carolina wine official, who notes that wine production is one of the few ways small, family-run farms can eek out a profit on their land. But the transition to vineyard isn’t cheap: Every acre cost $10,000 to $17,000 to develop, compared to $3,000 for tobacco. More»

(NEWSER) - The various sectors of the global economy have become so entwined with food production that prices are acting in a very “puzzling” manner, the Economist reports. Last year, the market responded rationally to the global food crisis of 2007-08, increasing production and thus lowering prices. But with another bumper crop expected, prices are up, “increasing at a time of plenty.” More»

Economy slams cow tenders

(NEWSER) - Dairy farmers are struggling to survive in the face of huge drops in the price they get for milk, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Though grocery store prices have stayed relatively constant, farmers are now getting just $10 for each hundred pounds of milk they sell, down from $20 in June. It costs the farmers $19.20 to produce that amount. More»