Yes, this is true as I see disappearing fields in Maryland saw them yesterday. My point, however, is that our arable land and ability to produce a range of ‘lesser’ crops on poorer land is a distinct asymmetrical advantage the CCP is aware we have. But if we take it for granted, like anything else, we could regret it later. Thanks, Jim!
Returning to S. West Idaho (outside of Boise) after 33 years of crisscrossing the globe courtesy of the U.S. Air Force, I was dismayed with the rapidly disappearing farmland I remembered in my youth growing up here. From the West edge of Boise to the next town (Meridian) is a distance of about 3 miles. That's not much from a driving standpoint. But, back in the late 70's, that short 3 mile distance was covered in alfalfa, corn, mint and potato fields. Now, that same stretch is covered in fast-food places, furniture stores, car dealerships, the obligatory Walmart and other commercial enterprises.
One of the most popular and sadly overused sayings here is: "I remember when that was a (pick a crop) field..." The growth is inevitable. Even further out from Boise we're seeing it. The young kids do not want to farm. Farmers who have harvested land for generations are seeing the money available by selling 40 or more acres to developers who can subdivide that property and put in about 4 houses per acre. The growth strains public services (police, fire, ambulance, water, power) which in-turn causes property taxes to increase to support those services. It's a vicious cycle and not sure where the end is? As agri-land continues to decrease, it makes it harder to feed a growing population and at some point, food security becomes a real issue.
"Flyover States" is a term (mostly used in a pejorative manner) to describe States some Americans consider "boring." Not surprisingly, many of the States receiving that designation are the ones with vast amounts of arable land that feeds our population. They are also the States least visited by national level politicians as they're normally less populated and produce fewer votes. At some point, we're going to figure out just how important those States are and start investing in our own food security future so we don't end up with the problem China is experiencing.
Yes, this is true as I see disappearing fields in Maryland saw them yesterday. My point, however, is that our arable land and ability to produce a range of ‘lesser’ crops on poorer land is a distinct asymmetrical advantage the CCP is aware we have. But if we take it for granted, like anything else, we could regret it later. Thanks, Jim!
Maybe this should be a policy metric DC keeps track of. Seems like China is a long way from catching up with US in this.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-consumer-expenditure-spent-on-food?tab=chart&country=POL~USA~GBR~CHN~IND~ZAF~NGA~PAK~RUS~SAU~BRA~KOR~IRN~JPN~ISR~EGY
Returning to S. West Idaho (outside of Boise) after 33 years of crisscrossing the globe courtesy of the U.S. Air Force, I was dismayed with the rapidly disappearing farmland I remembered in my youth growing up here. From the West edge of Boise to the next town (Meridian) is a distance of about 3 miles. That's not much from a driving standpoint. But, back in the late 70's, that short 3 mile distance was covered in alfalfa, corn, mint and potato fields. Now, that same stretch is covered in fast-food places, furniture stores, car dealerships, the obligatory Walmart and other commercial enterprises.
One of the most popular and sadly overused sayings here is: "I remember when that was a (pick a crop) field..." The growth is inevitable. Even further out from Boise we're seeing it. The young kids do not want to farm. Farmers who have harvested land for generations are seeing the money available by selling 40 or more acres to developers who can subdivide that property and put in about 4 houses per acre. The growth strains public services (police, fire, ambulance, water, power) which in-turn causes property taxes to increase to support those services. It's a vicious cycle and not sure where the end is? As agri-land continues to decrease, it makes it harder to feed a growing population and at some point, food security becomes a real issue.
"Flyover States" is a term (mostly used in a pejorative manner) to describe States some Americans consider "boring." Not surprisingly, many of the States receiving that designation are the ones with vast amounts of arable land that feeds our population. They are also the States least visited by national level politicians as they're normally less populated and produce fewer votes. At some point, we're going to figure out just how important those States are and start investing in our own food security future so we don't end up with the problem China is experiencing.