Bumper crops…baking…milk

These seemingly unrelated subjects in the title are just that, completely unrelated. However, all three of these items caught my attention yesterday, and while all are worthy of a separate blog, there’s just no time. So, I’ll just cover each topic quite briefly.
Bumper crops. The Wall Street Journal on May 3 reported that Brazil’s bumper crops of corn and soy have strained the nation’s grain storage capacity. The record crops have depressed grain prices, which the WSJ interprets as a bad thing. But for Brazil’s poultry and pig producers, this is a very good thing, which will reduce production prices, as I see it. Brazil will also have more grain to export, which is good for the poultry industries of other nations. The grain storage issue still needs to resolved, however.
Baking. There was another story in the May 3 Wall Street Journal, about the popularity of sourdough bread in the U.S. It was noted that: “The recession and high unemployment have left people with less money for restaurant food, but more time for ambitious baking recipes.” The article noted that one particular baking supply company had an 11% increase in flour sales last fiscal year. It also mentioned a particular baking website that currently attracts 1.25 million page views a month, more than double from two years ago. It seems to me that there’s a lesson there for the food production industry. Food for thought – pun intended. ...Read the full blog on www.animalagnet.com.