Upcoming Shortages

[Jackalope]

    I've had several sources report a potential interruption in the nation's food supply during a September-October time frame.  These sources are humint, so there's no solid confirmation, but they are reliable enough that I do take their warnings seriously.  The western U.S. drought is one obvious data point that should be considered. 
 
    We're already experiencing spot local shortages, so it doesn't take much imagination to realize that the shortage problem could intensify.  One of the reports indicates that Starbuck's is having problems sourcing lemons for their establishments, and another source has mentioned lime shortages, so apparently citrus fruits are in short supply.  Looks like the just-in-time inventory system is going to be severely tested in the coming months.  I'm thankful that we've had good, bountiful gardens these past couple of years.  Anyways, it's a good idea to continue to stock up, don't slack off.

    Food shortages concern me more than ammo shortages, because hungry desperate people can act stupidly, which can be deadly.

[JohnyMac]

As I reported this morning over in the Radio Board, there are shortages of coffee from Brazil right now due to a drought and lack of shipping containers.

[Jackalope]

   I guess if you're a coffee drinker that would be critical.  The shortages these folks are talking about will be widespread and very extensive.  Apparently the government is aware of the oncoming problems and is actively arranging things for maximum societal impact.  The intent is to use food as a tool to manage the populace.  At least one alphabet agency is intimately involved, but I'm sure there will be plausible deniability.

[Felix]

If shortages develop, and they don't become catastrophic this could be a good thing.
Too many people need a little nudge, a "wake-up" call before a deadly hammer blow.
Prepping spread wider means that much less badness for everyone concerned.

[pkveazey]

I see the same things that others see. When I go to the grocery store, I always buy something extra that I'm pretty sure I don't need, just in case. Today I bought an extra bottle of ketchup and an extra bottle of Mustard. I wanted to buy some more Brown Rice but all they had was a couple of bags of White Rice. I feed several feral cats so I also bought 2 bags of extra cat food. Don't forget TWINKIES. I bought 3 boxes of TWINKIES. Now I have 4 boxes of them just in case. The one thing that I'm going to miss more than anything else will be Strong Cheddar Cheese. Just where am I going to find Cheddar Cheese when it all goes wrong?

[Jackalope]

   Here's an article discussing the upcoming coffee shortage: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/coffee-prices-set-to-soar    I am so glad the spousal unit and I don't drink coffee.  She, however, does drink tea, so we have a few tea plants here, just in case.  She also makes teas out of conifer needles and Mullein plants.

[Nemo]

I feed several feral cats so I also bought 2 bags of extra cat food.

Parboil with celery and onions then fry them up like chicken and it ain't bad at all.

Nemo

[JohnyMac]

We have two semi feral cats that live outside. They do a great job keeping the rodent population down. We have two inside cats too. We have no rodent issues.

I belong to Tractor Supply's "neighbor's club". When I get my quarterly 10% off coupon, I buy about 4-months worth of dog, cat, and chicken food. Still buy my chickens cracked corn from Agway though, as it is a better product - More expensive but a better product.

With that written, chicken feed has gone up ~25% since the beginning of the year. I am not worried about the chickens in the summer as they do a great job foraging but the winter up here is a different story.

[Jackalope]

    Yeah, the chicken feed sharp price increase definitely concerns me.  We did plant lots of pumpkins, so that could potentially carry the flock into November.  I try to keep 6-12 months of feed on hand, so we could make it until next summer.  Free range chickens are the way to go.  Road kill can help with the protein needs of the flock, and maybe a couple of bunnies could help too.  We've got an over-abundance of rabbits this year, they seem to be everywhere.