Friday we traveled back to Paris by bus. The countryside between Normandy and Paris is beautiful and devoted to growing grain. The major crops include flax which was formerly used in France but is now shipped to China for making linen. Flax is now being harvested and they use an interesting technique. Each 'grain' plant is uprooted and left to lay on it's side to dry in place. At a later date, the flax will be wound into bundles for further processing -- and I think some sorting for quality.
The other grain crops here include wheat for the lovely french breads and pastries, rapeseed which produces canola and is used for green energy for autos, and then there is corn grown for the cattle & pork. This is a silage type of corn that is very different from our sweet corn and it is not consumed by humans.
The wheat crop here is early and yielding less than normal due to the lack of rain during the past months. So, the European wheat crop is light this year and prices will surely rise. Couple this with the difficulties of the American wheat crops this year. U.S. farmers are either plowing their fields under (drought in the middle and southern plains) or not getting the planting done (due to floods in northern plains). Sounds like time to 1) stock up on pasta and 2) start playing with futures in wheat.
Already, riots are resurfacing in grain mono-cultures like Egypt due to rising food prices. It could be a very difficult time until the next harvest for many people.
