Frozen thoughts

The markets for southern vegetables will continue to be bullish as the freezing weather continues.  South Georgia and northern Florida will take big hits as the temperatures fall into the teens and 20s.  This is fodder for climate change deniers, some of whom claim we are now entering a new Ice Age.  I wonder what they will be saying in July when temps on the east coast and the Midwest top out in the low 100s.   Meanwhile, consumers will pay more for squash and cucumbers in coming weeks.  California is facing a drought situation not seen in decades, although one Pacific storm could erase the moisture deficit at any time.  Most veg growers don't depend on Federal water projects for their supplies.  They usually pump water from underground aquifers which have not been affected by the drought so far.  If it continues for a second year, lettuce and celery could become scarce in the nation's salad bowl.  Talking to a spinach grower in Texas yesterday, we both agreed agriculture has become steadily more challenging as the new weather regime has overturned conventional wisdom regarding farming. The new generation of farmers will have to be far more risk oriented than their predecessors, otherwise, there will have to be much more government subsidies to entice them to keep planting with these uncertain forecasts.