This year’s harvest is looking rather bleak in many areas of the U.S due to natural disasters, and yes, looming federal regulations. Farmers are only now really getting the chance to assess the damage to their crops from the wind and rain of hurricanes Irene and Lee, and to the south, the wildfires.
Besides the concern of losing the harvest of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and squash, there are also long-term concerns about future harvests because of “soil erosion and gravel deposits in fields,” New York’s Poughkeepsie Journal reported,
In Pennsylvania, farmers told www.whptv.com that their losses included potato and corn crops.
The losses in these and others states affected by the hurricanes prompted a statement from FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods Michael R. Taylor who told Yahoo News that, “We empathize with the farmers who are dealing with the loss of crops due to recent flooding. We all share the goal of protecting the food supply. We are working directly with USDA on damage response and will consult with them on assistance for farmers following our guidance to keep damaged crops out of the food supply."
Dairy farmers have also experienced losses, and the article went on to note that, “Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pledged aid for dairy farms hit hard by Irene and Lee and flooding afterward, especially since three of the top 10 dairy states were impacted. Vilsack has already pledged immediate aid of $15 million to New York dairy farms.”
On the other end of the spectrum, the Texas wildfires are forcing ranchers to sell not just cattle and sheep in record numbers, but also calves and young cows that are normally kept by ranchers for breeding, according to a USA Today article. This suggests that there could be a shortages related to this in the near future.
In what one might say is adding insult to all of the injury, the EPA is tightening the reins on farmers by implementing additional regulations related to farming, according to Fox News. Farmers insist that these new regulations will stunt the growth of their businesses as farmers and make it difficult to plan for the future.
Economically damaging moves such as this are one of many reasons why Senior Pastor Dr. David Jeremiah of California’s Shadow Mountain Community Church believes that Obama will be a one term president. Jeremiah has also referred to Obama as “a very dangerous person” for the country because of his destructive policies, according to One News Now.
Jeremiah also believes that just about any conservative candidate would be better than another term with Obama as president, not because of any personal dislike of Obama, but because of the negative results of the policies he has allowed or implemented.
For further reaing:
Cost of wheat, corn, other commodities mushroom
As Dow plunges, Gore calls for ‘American spring’
Possible ‘Day of Rage’ on Wall Street on Saturday
