Potential Food and Energy Shortage Across the World

It's unfortunatly very close to the reality, I bought some eggs in a grocery store several days ago, 3,5 € for 6 Eggs... (and not special brand either)... Soon I'm gonna wonder if they are not coming from a golden chicken...
I went to the carribean, more precisely Martinique, in june. Carrefour, a well known big supermarket in France was selling bio eggs, 12 for 9€. Talking about golden chicken, more like golden eggs!!
 
In Germany, normal eggs from chickens that were kept in factories (no cages in Germany, but what they call "Bodenhaltung" = ground keeping), 10 pieces, are still holding at 1,99€. If you want to support local farmers, then you pay 2,89€ for 10 eggs.

The cheapest organic eggs are 2,49€ for 6 eggs; if you want organic and support local farmers then you pay 2,89€ for 6 eggs.

If one wants free-range eggs from a local farmer (not necessarily that chickens were fed organic food) then 10 eggs are 2,99€.

Doubt that the prices will hold for much longer as they are in the process of mass killings of birds in Germany, UK and Japan plus all the energy prices rising...
 
Gas prices are already rising in Europe. I thought something was amiss when I saw the UK gas futures jump by 10%.
Mother Nature maintains its status under the current solar cycle as climate change nations change gears of compliance.

LOL!
The Dutch government has decided to temporarily extract minimal amounts of natural gas from two sites at the Groningen gas field that was closed last year, as a deep freeze is moving into northwest Europe, boosting demand for space heating and electricity.

The Groningen gas fields would be turned off on October 1, 2023, and permanently close next October, the government of the Netherlands said last summer. The fields were expected to remain in operational status for another year just in case the country finds itself on the energy backfoot with an exceptionally cold winter 2023/2024.

After a warm autumn and a mild start to the winter, Europe is now facing the first real cold snap this heating season, with temperatures expected to drop this week below seasonal averages and the freeze to continue in northwest Europe at least until the middle of January.

The Netherlands faces 20 Fahrenheit and lower temperatures on Tuesday, so the government told the Parliament in a letter on Monday that two gas sites at the Groningen fields would be turned on a so-called “pilot light” – minimal gas production – during the cold snap.

According to the Economic Affairs Ministry, the “pilot light” measure is not regular production, and based on current forecasts, it will not be escalated and will be reversed in about two weeks, Reuters reports.

“The extraction is therefore minimal, namely only extraction on the pilot light at two locations for about two days,” Dutch State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief wrote in the letter, as carried by Bloomberg.

At the end of last week, power prices in Finland jumped to record-high levels as the deep freeze in Europe began in the Arctic parts of the Nordic countries and was set to move south to northwest Europe over the weekend and this week, creating additional energy demand and leading to higher electricity and natural gas prices.
By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com



By Samantha Daniel December 19, 2023
Cold Stress in Cattle
While daytime temperatures have been mild so far this December, bitter cold and negative wind chills are undoubtedly on the horizon. This is a good time to consider how we can best protect our cattle since livestock performance and survival is affected by wind and temperature.

The lower critical temperature, or the threshold at which cattle must use energy to maintain their body temperature, is 19°F for cattle with a dry hair coat, and 53°F for cows with a wet hair coat. Providing animals shelter in bad weather can help keep coats dry and limit wind chill effects, both of which will work to minimize the impact of the cold. Shelter can also help in other ways. Calving success can increase by 2% behind a windbreak, according to a Kansas study. In Montana feedlots during severe winters, cattle behind windbreaks gained 10.6 lbs. more than cattle that did not have windbreaks.

Cold stress increases a cow’s energy requirement which, if not met, can pull down body condition. A general rule of thumb we can use is that for every degree of cold stress a cow faces, they increase their energy requirements by 1%. In extreme cold, even high-quality hay can’t meet the increased energy demands. Corn is a great high energy option, but we need to be careful to work it up in a diet slowly. Pair it with free choice hay for fill and make sure not to give too much at once to animals whose rumen hasn’t shifted yet.

Finally, it is important to remember that lactating cows have a much greater energy requirement than pregnant cows. Because of this, cold stress can reduce a lactating cow’s body condition more rapidly, so it is advisable to increase their energy intake before loss of condition is observed. If you have questions about adjusting animal diets to address cold weather stress, your local extension office is a great place to start.

Tesing and Feeding Tobacco-brown Hay and Silage


Did difficult weather this year cause your hay to be baled too wet or silage chopped too dry? Now that hay and silage has heated and turned brown, how should you feed these forages?

Hay baled too wet or silage chopped to dry can get excessively hot and cause certain chemical reactions to occur. These chemical reactions and the heat that produces them will darken your forage and make it smell sweet like caramel.

Livestock often find such hay or silage very palatable. But the chemical reaction that caused this heat-damaged forage reduces its energy value and also makes some of the protein become indigestible. Unfortunately, tests for crude protein do not distinguish between regular crude protein and this heat-damaged protein. As a result, your forage test can mislead you into thinking you have more usable protein in your forage than actually is there.

If your forage test is done using NIR, heat-damaged protein may be one of the analyses reported. If the heat-damaged protein is high enough, the test also will report an adjusted crude protein that is different from the regular crude protein. However, the NIR test for heat-damage may not be accurate enough for you if your ration contains a lot of this forage. In these cases where a large amount of heat-damaged protein is suspected, request from your lab a chemical analysis for heat-damaged protein. This will ensure the amount of head damage is measured correctly and allow you to adjust the amount of crude protein your forage actually will provide to your animals.

Forage tests can tell us a lot about the nutrient supplying ability of our forages. But we need to make sure we conduct the right tests and then use the results wisely.
 
Screenshot 2024-01-20 at 17-20-17 BBC Wales News on X Tata Steel says closing Port Talbot’s bl...png

Tata Steel confirms 2,800 jobs cut across UK

January 19 2024 Watch live coverage of this story by clicking 'play' above
Screenshot 2024-01-20 at 17-15-39 Tata Steel Thousands of jobs to go as Port Talbot blast furn...png
Screenshot 2024-01-20 at 17-24-12 Tata Steel Thousands of jobs to go as Port Talbot blast furn...png
Updated14:58, 20 JAN 2024 Opening snip:
Emergency services remain at the scene of a large fire that broke out on an industrial estate in Bridgend. Multiple fire crews spent the night tackling a large fire at a warehouse owned by the Owens Group Bridgend Industrial Estate in Coychurch.

Fire crews were called at 8.30pm by staff who were in the building and were on the scene within minutes but it took until 8am on Saturday morning to bring the fire under control.

Huw Owen, group managing director, praised the emergency services and confirmed that everyone had got out of the building safely.

He said: "A significant fire took hold, and all emergency services were in attendance within minutes. All our staff exited the warehouse safely and have been accounted for. Thankfully none have suffered any injuries. The fire has affected stock belonging to one of our long-term customers and we are working closely with them on a recovery plan to ensure continuity of service to their customers."

Footage from the scene showed flames and thick smoke billowing from one of the buildings on the estate. Eyewitnesses reported hearing "explosions" and seeing heavy smoke. South Wales Fire Service confirmed ten appliances were in attendance at an industrial unit. A statement from the fire service said: "On arrival, crews were faced with a well-developed fire at a substantial commercial unit. Multiple appliances and crews attended and Firefighters worked tirelessly throughout the night to bring the fire under control at approximately 0800 hours this morning."

On Saturday morning South Wales Police said that emergency services remain at the scene. There are road closures on Kingsway, South Road, Cheapside, and Queens Road. Benchmark Scenic Construction, which does specialist construction for the film and television industry, wrote on Facebook: "Absolutely devastating news. Our workshop has been destroyed by fire which spread from a nearby unit on Bridgend Industrial Estate."

 
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