Farmers sitting pretty Ireland can turn the weather disasters of
2012 to its advantage. It will take our agriculture a while to
recover from our wettest summer in 50 years. But there could be
a bright side for Ireland to look at, in the major global
weather disaster of the year — the worst drought the US has seen
in nearly a century. That has left a 165 million tonnes hole in
global grain and oilseed supplies, which had already been at
tight levels. As a result, prices for grains and oilseeds will
remain high for at least the next year. Rabobank says world
maize stocks will fall to only 51 days of use next year, and
world soybean stocks will fall to only 73 days. That means feed
cost increases on livestock farms around the world, driving down
production of cattle, milk, pigmeat, and poultry — at the same
time as demand for food increases, due to population growth and
economic recovery. According to researchers at Rabobank,
skyrocketing agricultural commodity prices are causing the world
to re-enter a period o