With all the attention on the failings of Wall Street over the past couple of weeks, few people gave notice to what, in my mind, is even a more severe long term problem. Yes, the reality is that the storms and hurricanes of the past few years are creating a real problem for agriculture, and adding much pressure to the rising costs of producing food.

The headlines told us that Hurricane Ike was the ninth storm to hit the U.S. so far this year; which followed closely on the heels of the devastation of Gustav. Louisiana first, and then Galveston. Reports as of this writing is that there are still tens of thousands of homes without power. Some estimates are that the damage in Louisiana in many cases is worse than from Katrina or Rita. But this column is not about the human sufferings, which countless others have written about far better than I could ever do. This column is about the story that needs to be told about the weather and our food world.

The reality is that by the year 2050, we will need to produce almost twice as much food as we do today based on current population trends which predicts a global population of over 11 billion mouths to feed; and be able to produce it on a shrinking land mass.

It is the impact of this year’s storms on the agricultural, fishing and seafood industries which the rest of the nation will feel the effects of for years to follow. As examples, the Texas alfalfa crops that have been decimated will surely increase the costs for cattle feed, and the price of beef at retail. Sugarcane producers in southern Louisiana have been faced with salt-water intrusion by both storms. And for our agricultural production to even have a chance for success means that farmers of all sizes must be able to make a profit.

The USDA has released its September corn yield projection as 152.3 bushels per acre – a drop of 2-percent from its August prediction of 155 bushels. The Storm Exchange estimate is 6 percent below the prediction. As a result, USDA also increased its price estimates for corn and soybeans, an increase of ten-cents per bushel for both commodities in just one month.

And that’s just the beginning...

Hurricane Ike was the ninth storm to hit the U.S. so far this year; which followed closely on the heels of the devastation of Gustav. Louisiana first, and now Galveston. Residents of both communities are without power or shelter and in need of aid. More on that coming up...

It is the impact on the agricultural, fishing and seafood industries which the rest of the nation will feel the effects of, for years to follow. The Texas alfalfa crops that have been decimated will surely increase the costs for cattle feed, and the price of beef at retail. Sugarcane producers in southern Louisiana have been faced with salt-water intrusion by both storms. And some estimate that the damage in Louisiana in many cases is worse than from Katrina or Rita.

The USDA has released its September corn yield projection as 152.3 bushels per acre – a drop of 2-percent from its August prediction of 155 bushels. The Storm Exchange estimate is 6 percent below that.

USDA also increased its price estimates for corn and soybeans, an increase of ten-cents per bushel for both commodities in just one month.

Click here to download to the complete USDA Weekly Weather Bulletin.

Nearly 40,000 people are in shelters in both areas and there is no word on when they may return to their homes. Over 2 million people in Texas are without power. We hope you will join us in making a donation in foods or cash to America’s Second Harvest – go to www.secondharvest.org