Dear JWR,
I thought you’d like to pass this on if people want to save some of their hard earnings. Now is the last call to purchase before the commodity price increases. Shipping cost increases are to hit us again on February 19th. Here in North Carolina, we’re seeing an average of 20% increases in prices of staple shelf items like flour, corn milled products, honey, milk, eggs and canned goods within the last two weeks in the grocery stores. One bell pepper now costs a dollar. Other produce is following the same increases. Products made of plastics, paper and aluminum and galvanized fencing materials have jumped about 25%. The inventory has also been pared down dramatically in the general stores and farm supply stores, especially on animal feed.
We prepaid and ordered a pallet each of salt blocks, crushed calcium, and lime and had to wait almost a month for them. When we picked them up the manager told us we were fortunate that we prepaid because the prices had increased to about 15% on them.
Local grown soy beans, wheat and corn are hard if nil to come by. The soy has all been shipped to China. Many shelves are bare for several days before resupply. Lumber prices have gone crazy and the available quality is getting poorer and we have dozens of mills and thousands of tree farms within 100 miles of here.
Of course, because of God’s providence and foresight to act, we don’t need to buy these as we’re stocked adequately for a very long haul, but I always make note of the prices on these items, because we have the capability and produce many of these ourselves and we barter excesses of these for other items we don’t produce. The going market value is important to monitor if you want to barter and maintain a balance for the goods you exchange.
Keep up the great work! You have done so much toward educating us all in maintaining our independence and in preparing ourselves for the worst of the worst. We now proudly stand at the ready. God bless you and your family. – KBF