Hay wars….

…we wrote before about the devastating effect of the drought on our friends who are cattlemen in the mid-section of the country.  Most ran out of grass this summer and were forced to severely cut back their herds and even liquidate.

Now that it’s winter, and time to feed hay, the situation has become even more dire.  Hay rustlers have become a serious problem.  And so have the Chinese.

The Stockman Grass Farmer reports that the Chinese are able to outbid American cattleman for American hay.  It seems it costs just $30 a ton to transport hay by container ship to the Far East.  Shipping that same ton of hay by truck from southern to central California costs $53!

SGF’s Alan Nation also notes that the Chinese are adding about 9-million dairy cows and so their need for hay is going to multiply.  We might add that when we ship hay to China….we also shipping a scarce water resource.

We’ve also pointed out that it’s not an energy war that threatens the world…but a food and water war.