Looming USA Agricultural Export Market Crisis

Basics

• Largely a collection of Op-Eds, so ye be warned here lies Editorialism etc
• TLDR:
  • Corn ( Maize ) and Soybeans are the main Cash Crops of the USA
  • Much of this market was for export
  • Due to Trade Wars the export market is crashing
  • Due to the synergistic Crop Rotation of both reducing Nitrogen Fertilizer needs and SOME pest pressure, switching to an all Maize model may drastically impact Soil Health / Fertilizer Consumption / Surges in Pests etc
  • Intersection with Markets for Animal Feed due to Trade Wars on Livestock / Animal Products are also making a Meta-Crisis of sorts
  • Energy Prices impacting the Corn Ethanol Market

Potential "Offramps"

End in Trade War / Return to Pre-Trade War Status Quo

• "Easiest" but least likely (Due to Political Needs, and how much of the world may have "Moved On"

Alternative Uses

• While crashing energy prices don't help (Expensive Gas makes Biofuel "Cheaper" etc), diversion from overseas markets/Industrial Animal Agriculture to Biomass / Bio-Materials may be possible
• Main issue is Large Scale Infrastructure Investment etc would need to be done (For Factories etc)
• Also even if there is a Source at point "A" and a Market at point "B", getting the grain Economically and On-Time from point A to Point B is a whole other aspect
• SUPPOSEDLY due to being Export Oriented, in a similar manner to Just in Time Manufacturing leaving the global supply chain vulnerable during COVID-19 era disruptions, the USA Market may be in a similar situation where it relied on Ships/Freight Trains etc as storage, thus in the meantime there may be gaps in storage capapcity

Relevant Equipment

• Open Source Industrial Food Processing Construction Set
  • Mainly:
    • Open Source Expeller Press
    • Open Source Continuous Solvent Extraction Plant
    • Open Source Deep Vat Fermentor / Open Source Ethanol Still etc
    • Open Source PLA (Granted High RnD Complexity, thus "Just in time to be too late" )
    • Starch Bio-Polymer work
    • Open Source Transesterification Biodiesel equipment
    • Open Source Anaerobic Digestion / Open Source Biogas Upgrading
      • Insert Link Here, but one plant is diverting Brewers Grains from Animal Feed to Anaerobic Digestion and it made some local news feed (Pun? :3 )\
    • Open Source Grain Bin
      • This would PROBABLY be a hard sell given how specialized+cost efficient/established the industry already is
      • Controlled Atmosphere Storage / Food Irradiation etc may be a route that could be explored, but WAY higher RnD Complexity, and thus probably "Just in time to be too late"
    • Open Source Engineered Meat Alternatives (Think Open Source Textured Vegetable Protein etc
  • Open Source Biochar Kiln (in particular capacities approaching a Rocc Kiln or Open Source Rotary Kiln

Re-Tooling/Adaptation

• A bit more radical, but it could potentially be aided by OSE Equipment
• Although most non-commodity crops (So Fruits+Veggies, not Grains/Beans/Tubers etc) require more labor or Bleeding Edge ULTRA high tech automation (vs a Combine Harvester etc)

External Links

• A Video by the YouTube Channel "Prairie Fire" Titled "The looming logistical crisis in American agriculture" ( ~11 Minute Watch )
• A Video by the YouTube Channel "How Money Works" Titled "America's Latest Farming Crisis" ( ~15 Minute Watch )
  • Mentions the trade war, but also Financialization of Agricultural Land / Land Speculation
  • Also mentions the Farm to Taber video
• A Video by the YouTube Channel "Adam Ragusea" Titled "Why U.S. farmers rely on soy (and why they're in trouble)" ( ~3 Minute Watch )
  • At 12:12 it mentions the Agricultural Cooperative + Buyer problem of Re-Tooling / Adapting to a different crop