Locusts now in Melbourne.

These critters are actually turning up in inner city backyards of Melbourne.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/12/3064584.htm?section=justin

yeah they started hatching here in the last week or so.

on monday and tuesday they were very thick, but that band has moved on with the wind.

it has the potential to become a very serious problem.

Devastation of crops that these critters can do is apocalyptic Stal.

I have not seen any.

Heres an idea for the enterprising.

Drive around with a big net made out of fly wire to catch them, put them into cold storage and sell them as fish food to the fresh water aquatic industry.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/12/3065202.htm

Farmers fight to save harvest from hungry hoppers

Quote :

Farmers in the Mallee are working around the clock to protect their best crops in years from an army of locusts advancing across the north-west of Victoria.

Grain grower Chris Douglas was one of the first farmers in Victoria to report locusts hatching on his Werrimull property, west of Mildura.

He has been spraying the edges of his crop with chemical insecticide ever since.

It is stressful being a farmer at times. Hopefully they can keep them under control.

Unfortunately this gives more fuel to the inflation fire.


The Food Crisis of 2011


http://www.standeyo.com/NEWS/10_Food_Water/101109.food.crisis.2011.html


Fact is, the food crisis of 2008 never really went away.

True, food riots didn’t break out in poor countries during 2009 and warehouse stores like Costco didn’t ration 20-pound bags of rice…but supply remained tight.

Prices for basic foodstuffs like corn and wheat remain below their 2008 highs. But they’re a lot higher than they were before “the food crisis of 2008” took hold. Here’s what’s happened to some key farm commodities so far in 2010…


Corn: Up 63%

Wheat: Up 84%

Soybeans: Up 24%

Sugar: Up 55%

What was a slow and steady increase much of the year has gone into overdrive since late summer. Blame it on two factors…

Aug. 5: A failed wheat harvest prompted Russia to ban grain exports through the end of the year. Later in August, the ban was extended through the end of 2011. Drought has wrecked the harvest in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan – home to a quarter of world production

Oct. 8: For a second month running, the Agriculture Department cut its forecast for US corn production. The USDA predicts a 3.4% decline from last year. Damage done by Midwestern floods in June was made worse by hot, dry weather in August.

There was a big locust scare last month in NSW - lot of bollocks. We were in the zone for late oct, I didnt see a single one.