My mission is to change the paradigm on investment in Small Sustainable farms in America. It is clear – if we do not create “true” sustainable agriculture then we will not be here as a species very long. Further , if we do not create a diversified, balanced, and healthy “Food Grid” in America we will not be here as a country very long. I consider this a “National Security” issue.
I sense that a “Fait de Complis” has been formed against us and we have a limited amount of time to neutralize it.
Historically, the #1 reason for Revolution in the world has been famine. Food has also historically been used as a weapon. The Czar used it to drive Napoleon out of Moscow by burning the regional food supply. Stalin used it against Ukraine by destroying the farms and confiscating food storage causing a famine. The Nazis used it against the Soviets in the Siege of Leningrad by blockading the city causing cannibalism. The Romans and the British controlled “salt” as the main food preservative of the time to control the people. And of course we used food against our own indigenous people by destroying the buffalo herds.
We do not have far to look to find Henry Kissinger of the CFR verifying this point – “Control Oil and you control Nations, control Food and you control the People”. Is it any wonder that 90% of all our processed food is controlled by 10 global corporations? Further that virtually 100% of all seed stock in American for corn, wheat, and soy is controlled by 1 corporation that was recently sold to a foreign entity that has a very checkered history.
Is it possible that we have been set up in a “Food” Samson Option?
Most Americans mistake “Food Production Volume” with “Food Security”. Obviously they are not the same. In America we have a substantial “Food Production Volume” but we have no “Food Security”. Food Security is “Food Production Volume” plus “Food Accessibility”. As stated earlier, our sophisticated “Just in Time Delivery” system is quite vulnerable. Think of it as a well tuned Swiss Watch. Just one hammer and it stops.
It has been said that Admiral Yamamoto stated in the 1940’s about America “Behind every blade of grass is a rifle”. It should have been expanded to “and a farm within 5 miles”. This meaning being “Guns, food, and a defensive force”.
In the 1950’s America had over 20 million farms and 30% of Americans lived on the farms creating a very diversified and strong “Food Grid”. Today we have less than 2 million farms and approximately 1% of Americans on the farm.
Clearly with the installation of President Eisenhower “Interstate Road Network” the paradigm of farming changed. “Economics of Scale” became a large factor. Combined with advancements in refrigeration, we could now have food shipped coast to coast in 3 days. But keep in mind, Eisenhower's concept was designed to strengthen the country, not weaken it.
At first glance is seems that the classic economic concept of “Economics of Scale” is responsible for the death on many small farms. While this is partially true, upon further investigation we find the main cause of the death of small farms and the destruction of the “Food Grid” is the United States Government.
Government Agencies claiming to “help the people” have basically made it an economic disaster for the small American Farmer. The FDA, EPA, BLM, IRS, to name just a few, have bombarded the small farms (and other businesses) with administrative decrees destroying the profitability of a small farm. What a shocker, US Government agencies being used illegally to benefit the agenda of only a few. It is widely known and often proven these agencies are compromised by special interests. Additionally, Government subsidies supported large farms, and transportation companies at the detriment of regional small rural farms. Suspiciously this seems to have increased just after President Reagan was shot and continues to this day.
It is interesting to note that Russian President Vladimir Putin is giving away up to 10 acres of land to anyone who will start a farm in Russia. What an interesting concept, a government actually supporting the development of their own “Food Grid” thereby increasing their National Security. Here in America we have Senators using Federal Agencies (above mentioned) to remove American Farmers and sell their land to foreign entities. Some dare call that Treason. Somehow that brings back historical references to the fall or Rome. Was it not the Roman Senate that taxed the farmers to the point that the farmers left their land? I recall from my history classes that the Visigoths delivered the message to those that “did not use their eyes to see, nor their ears to hear”.
The situation in America is worse then the obvious. Everybody is aware upon investigation, that if shipping stops then food delivery stops. The deeper issue is American investment psychology. Our driving force in American investment is “Return on Investment” (ROI). In general, we use a 10% ROI as a baseline. When actually calculating out a 10% ROI we find that our “Investment Principle” is doubled in approximately 7.2 years (Rule of 72). This means that the foundation stone of American investment only has an 7 year horizon. We are predominately only planning 7 years with our investments.
There are 2 areas of deep concern with ROI. The first being, maximizing ROI. While this might sound like smart financing logic, the actually question is maximizing ROI at the risk of lowering National Security. We now have a very efficient “Just in Time Delivery” system. This has led our Bean Counters (a technical term for Accountants) to create the “Just in Time Inventory” system. This brain child drives up ROI by reducing required inventory investment. We no longer have to store a large inventory of parts, equipment, and supplies because we can get them delivered basically overnight. This works excellently until shipping stops, and then we have failure of production.
What this means for farmers is they do not need to store repairs parts, large supplies of fuel, seeds, livesstock food, or other resources that will guarantee them operation for a year because the farmer can get the resources delivered “Just in Time”. This means that if the “Just In Time Delivery” system collapses not only does food not get delivered, the supplies to produce and keep food production happening also does not get delivered. Once production shuts down it gets extremely difficult to start back up.
A prime example was the Fukushima disaster that happened in Japan. The truck alternators produced in Japan and shipped “Just in Time” to the Ford Pick-up Truck factory in Tennessee stopped being produced. The Ford factory had very few alternators in stock, and shut down the entire production operation for lack of only 1 part when the alternator supply ran out. I would guess the Bean Counters claimed Force Major to keep their jobs. We can go a while without new pick-ups, but when consumables like food stops being delivered and produced – we stop. And that includes to the US military – as Napoleon said – “an army runs on its stomach”.
Basically all American farms run on a “Just in Time Delivery Inventory” system now. When shipping shuts down, food production will shut down shortly afterwards. And then the dominions start falling.
Additionally our entire farming system has gone into a “Niche” market concept. Long gone are the “All in One” farms that produced everything they needed to operate. The Corn farmer no longer producers nor stores his own seed corn. The seed corn is produced by a separate farm that is thousands of miles away. If the shipping system stops, and the planting period is missed as the seed corn is not delivered, then the farm has to wait for the next planting season. ie – No food produced till next planting season. It is the same with virtually all our crops, no delivery of the seeds on time, production must wait till the next planting season. No grain delivered and the livestock do not get fed.
Another example is your local healthy farm that raises chickens and eggs. They no longer hatch their own chicks. Virtually no farmers have egg incubators. The farmer buys the chicks from a separate niche business (hundreds of miles away), a Hatchery. The Hatchery express “1 day” mail the 1 day old chicks to the farmer. Worse yet, the Hatchery does not produce its own fertilized hatching eggs. The eggs are produced by another niche business farm (also hundreds of miles away) and sent “Just in Time” to the Hatchery. If the “Just in Time Shipping” system goes down then all chicken and egg production stops. No egg delivery, no Hatchery production, no chick delivery, no food produced. Considering that we as humans need protein to exist, this may be considered a “Security Threat”.
So basically the vast majority of American farming is simple links in a chain held together by the “Just in Time Delivery” system. It is not the breaking of the weakest link, it is the breaking of all the conjoining links. Anybody who looks at a Gantt Cart displayed in Critical Path of US food production will see it immediately.
Another ROI concern is competition. American investors are not investing into small farms because the ROI is not competitive to other investments. The US Government agencies have destroyed the ROI for small farms. But what we are seeing in the market is that other nationalities are investing. While the Americans are only thinking for the short term of 7 years, the Chinese seem not to have a time frame. Everybody knows the Chinese think in the “long term”.
So while American Investors ignore investing in their own national farm land because of poor ROI, the Chinese are purchasing it. The Chinese are taking our government debt and recycling it to purchase our prime farm land. Doubt that? Who owns Smithfield – the worlds largest pork producer? I would not advise 320 mil Americans to sell their farm land to 1.6 Billion Chinese.
Sun Tzu – To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. Coincidence?
When we investigate the “Just in Time Delivery” system we will find approximately 12 “Threats” facing America. These Threats all have 1 thing in common, they shut down the “Just in Time Delivery” system. In other words, if one of these “Threats” happens then Food stops being delivered, and food production stops.
My good friend Mat Stein passed away recently. Mat had his degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and wrote the book, “When Technology Fails”. I consider it a must read for anyone in an authority position. Physics, Math, and Science do not lie. Additionally Mat wrote the article – 400 Chernobyls: Solar Flares, EMP, and Nuclear Armageddon. It is a worthy read.
During the “Cold War” the singer “Sting” wrote and sang the song “The Russians” with the lyrics saying “I hope the Russians love their children too”. The title presumes the Americans love their children. Do not judge us by what we say, but what we do. We Americans shoot our children up with 4 times the vaccines as other countries do, drowned them with ELF, feed them untested foods, ignore an Opioid and drug epidemic, educate them not to think, pollute our water supply and aquifers, and make sure they have no future of a “Healthy Food” supply – all done without question. Is this Love, or is this death?
In closing, we can have our Space Force, we can have our Wall, we can even have our Military Industrial complex, but if we do not have sustainable agriculture these are all moot. Something has to give!
There is a saying – “We inherit the sins of our fathers”. Another way to write this is – “We endow our children and grandchildren our sins”. So, do we address our sins now, or do we pass them on?
A wise man said, “Only from a position of strength can we help”.
This whole letter was about, creating a position of strength. With food we can solve virtually every problem, without we can solve none.
There is one and only one solution. Change the paradigm on investment into Small Sustainable Farms in America
Till later
J.C.
PS – as you are a reading machine, please take of read of this book “Rebuilding the Foodshed: How to Create Local, Sustainable, and Secure Food Systems” by Philip Ackerman-Leist
