Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at a potential corn crop failure, due to flooding. (See the Commodities section and the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

A bell just rang. Did you hear it?  The ratio of the spot price of silver to the spot price of gold just hit another  high point. As of June 4th, 2019, one Troy Ounce of silver cost $14.76 and meanwhile one Troy Ounce of gold cost $1,323.10. That equates to a ratio of 89.64-to-1. So this is a great opportunity to ratio trade out of gold into silver!

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Gold Prices Explode Higher

Economy & Finance:

Markets Are Screaming Rate Cuts. It’s Fed’s Turn to Respond

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I’ve never been a chartist, but Mike C. wrote to mention this interesting analysis of the S&P 500, by Clive Maund:  BLOODBATH LOOKS IMMINENT – FULL DEFENSIVE MODE…

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How Top Gamers Earn Up to $15,000 an Hour

Commodities (Corn Crop Failure):

With the extensive flooding this year, much of the traditional corn acreage in the U.S. will either be planted late, or not planted at all! The ag news is full of “weather-prevented planting” headlines. It is also noteworthy that some of the planting that is now going on is “just for show”–so that farmers can collect on their crop insurance. And more than a few corn farmers are switching to planting soybeans for this year, because it can be planted later yet still have a decent yield.

All of this may lead to corn crop shortages and substantially higher prices.  Plan accordingly. (Prepared families should top off their stored grain!)  Also, remember that a crop failure can have a cascading effect. For example, if a corn crop fails, then livestock producers will often turn to buying alternative feed–such as oats, barley, or hay.  So those farm commodity prices will spike too, even if they have an “average” production year.

Watch the weather closely in the next few weeks, folks. If the heavy rains persist in corn country, then there could indeed be a corn crop failure.

Cryptos:

Crypto Exchange Bankrupt After Blockport STO Ends in Utter Disaster. The piece begins:

“Amsterdam-based cryptocurrency exchange Blockport has declared bankruptcy after its security token offering (STO) flamed out in disastrous fashion.

Blockport launched a token sale between April 16 and May 15, in which the crypto exchange sought to raise €5 million ($5.62 million). But it didn’t work out as planned.”

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Bitcoin Turns Bearish, How Low Will The Pullback Go This Time?

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Apple Publishes Bitcoin Icons & ‘CryptoKit’; iPhone Crypto Wallet Coming?

Tangibles Investing (Corn Crop Failure):

With crop failures now looking possible, those of you who own livestock should seriously consider buying  grain in more than just 80 pounds sacks! I recommend buying separate grain bins for your horse supplements, cow supplements, chicken feed, rabbit pellets, et cetera. And folks with more than one Livestock Guarding Dog (LGD) should seriously consider getting some bulk storage for dog food.

Here are some options:

Witt Industries WCD32CL Galvanized Steel 32-Gallon Light Duty Trash Can with Lid, Round, 21-1/4″ Diameter x 27-1/2″ Height

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Harris Farms Feed Scoop, 2 Quart

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Vittles Vault Outback 80 lb Airtight Pet Food Storage Container

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And for ease of dispensing: High Country Plastics BIN-270 Feed Bin with Stand, 270 Gallon

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Need something larger? Then talk to Sioux.

Provisos:

SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for our detailed disclaimers.

News Tips:

Please send your economics and investing news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who particularly watch individual markets. And due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” investing news. We often get the scoop on economic and investing news that is probably ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!




20 Comments

  1. I agree that this rain-induced crop failure risk is not hyperbole…. It may prove to be nothing (thanks Monsanto?), however with a surplus of soybeans in storage due to China/US trade concerns, this is the second major staple crop that is under pressure. Securing reliable foodstuffs today (that DO NOT have counter-party risk – e.g. if you don’t hold it, you don’t own it) should be on everyone’s list. Even if it’s as simple as topping up your pantry, or buying some extra food for the fall, you can virtually guarantee that every American will experience some form of price increase or other hardship in the next 3-6 months; with the expectation of lasting until at least the next planting season.
    Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, grows as much corn as we do in the US. So much of our food chain (from processed cereals and other foodstuffs to animal feed/pet food) is derived from the carbon found in corn. Expect gasoline prices to spike as well (since the federal goobermint mandates a minimum of 10% of your car’s energy comes from ethanol (corn….)) This may even have knock-on affects in other area’s of the world that are used to receiving surplus US corn, creating political and social upheaval.
    I’m not prone to fear-mongering and doom-porn, but this has the potential to truly be a black-swan type event. It may be nothing, it may be mitigated or muted, or it may be the tipping point to a global shortage. Whatever may come, now is the time to prepare for it in your own house, before your supply chain experiences challenges.

  2. Our feed mill will sell cow feed, corn and wheat in bulk. So I am working on building 2 grain bins out of plywood (heavily braced of course) to haul on a trailer up there to get filled. The way we use grain, it probably won’t last a super long time, though. My long term solution is to grow what we need, but it has been pretty hard to get there. I am feeding rabbits entirely off grass in rabbit tractors, and rapidly expanding my rabbit operation. The chickens are harder. The cows COULD eat just grass, though I like to give the one I’m milking some grain. So I am growing plenty of okra, since okra is a close cousin to cottonseed. At least it will give them some fat and have something to come into the milking stall for. That’s my plan so far.

  3. Suggestions for storing chicken feed? Right now I only keep 2 sacks, one open one back stock in a aluminum garbage can. I just increased my flock size and I need to stock up, but I’m unsure about the best way to store it that it won’t grow mold. I’m thinking about 10 50 pound bags.

    1. You might look around for a couple of 55 gallon plastic drums that have either screw lids or lids with bands. I have my bulk wheat stored this way and they are pretty rodent and bug resistant. For additional protection from insects that are often found in grains I throw in about 2 lbs. of dry ice before dumping the loose grain on top. If you buy bagged grain you can store a lot more in the drum if you remove it from the bags. Do not completely seal the drums until the next day, this will give the carbon dioxide time to fill in between the grains and drive the oxygen out. CO2 is heavier than air. This will kill the bugs and their eggs and the grain will be safe for consumption. Be very careful with dry ice as it is extremely cold and will frost bite skin if in direct contact. , Each drum will hold about 500 lbs. of grain which is 500 lbs of piece of mind.

  4. Clive Maund chart article.
    Here is a working linky to the article: https://www.clivemaund.com/article.php?id=5064
    First, thanks to Mike C. for sharing this. It’s interesting. I agree with the chart analysis but there are spots of disagreement, mainly that there is also a very large inverse Head and Shoulders on the one year chart of the S&P 500. That might be bullish. But, I’ve been watching the small caps which most often lead on the way up and the way down. The small cap Russell 2k index did not reach it’s prior high and did not fully participate in the rally off of the 20 percent decline that the S&P 500 experienced at the end of last year. This is a big tell. With the small caps not participating in the last rally it’s looking like they have already topped out and rolled over. This is not a good sign. The valuations of the small caps also suggest that they, as a group, don’t really have much room for Price to Earnings (PE) ratio expansion which would be typical in a healthy bull market. Also, back to that inverse Head and Shoulders, this also means, and almost always does, that a double top is in, which the article rightly points out. This can be very bearish as a failure to break out to new highs is a typical sign of exhausted bulls that are out of ammo. The article concludes that ‘full defensive mode’ is warranted. Well, ok, a little more of a calm perspective might indicate that If you have a short to mid term time horizon, without clarity of direction in the markets right now, there is no real reason to participate.

  5. I wish someone would do an article on long term pet food storage…I have three large dogs…I try to keep some food stored ahead but I probably do not have more than a few months at best. I understand that canned dog food will outlast dry for storage but storing enough canned for long term is expensive.

    1. Grandma grew up during the depression and would always throw in an extra tater for the dog. That and with the extra gravy, table scraps, the dog never lacked. Might be easier to increase your food stocks and share with your best friends.

  6. I acquired a pallet of dog food that was rejected by the military because the bags were broken open. It was date marked for a 2 yr. expiration date. It was science diet brand. I transferred it to plastic buckets gave them the CO2 treatment and the food was good for about 2 years before the oils in it went rancid. My plan is for the dogs to eat what we will be eating for a long time and that is rice and beans with some vegetable oil and an occasional vitamin and/or vegetables and meat as available. Dogs are pretty good foragers when they have to be.

  7. Howling Wolf

    A good way to store bulk grain is in tote bags. They will generally hold about 1000 lbs. They have 4 large straps on them to lift. They are usually found at feed mills or they sometimes used in seed plants. Usually can be purchased for $15 to $20.

  8. Thanks to the folks at ice age farmer, adapt 2030, and oppenheimer ranch project- we saw the threat of mass crop failure back in March. Couple this with the African swine flu that has decimated China’s pork production. Meat prices will definitely and dramatically rise this Summer. We bought the biggest freezer we could find and have been filling it with meat for the last 2-1/2 months.

  9. From the link: ~How Top Gamers Earn Up to $15,000 an Hour.~ = “Goldman Sachs has estimated that esports and online game streaming viewership will reach 300  million people by 2022, surpassing the audience for Major League Baseball.”
    PewDiePie reviews and plays video games. He has 96+ >million subscribers on YouTube, and makes millions of dollars a year. (From the Internet and Wikipedia)

    [It’s difficult for parents to convince kids to stop playing video games, get out of the basement, go to school and get even a minimum wage job? Some of the kids must think, they’re practicing for bigger more important things.]

  10. I am willing to go without buying Mexican tomatoes, avocados, peppers, African watermelons, Vietnamese Papayas etc. In older times you ate what was local and In season. Salad greens in Spring, cherries and strawberries in June, corn and watermelons in July, Apples and potatoes in the Fall. Right now am buying extra Pasta, Rice, peanut butter, oatmeal, and stocking up on meat. Meat prices locally have dropped (due to ranchers trying to get rid of their stock now in case they can’t afford to feed them later), but anticipate they will spike later. Get your Thanksgiving turkey now.

    1. I buy some foods from Mexico, some knowingly and some not. But I do not buy anything I would eat raw (salad greens and fruit) if I know it came from Mexico. My local store has started putting the COO (country of origin) signs on fresh foods. Not sure why, a law perhaps that I hadn’t heard of. But it seems like a good idea.

  11. Here in Northern Indiana the crops are mostly in now, maybe late but nowhere near a failure. Prices may rise some but I don’t think its anything to worry about.

  12. I must ask the obvious question! If the economy is so wonderful, why is everyone in a lather about some small rate cuts? Interest rates are at historic lows and the markets at historic highs! Am I missing something?

    Could it be, that all is not well in Utopia? Exactly who does low interest rates help! After all the whining, excuses, and drama, has ten years of super low interest rates helped anyone but the government and banksters?

    Proverbs 22:7
    The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.

    Or as my Grandfather put it:

    If you can’t pay cash, you can’t afford it.

    1. The Economy “Rigging” That Impacts Americans…

      “At the heart of the controlled monetary system; at the epicenter of the multinational global control mechanisms; inside the offices of the global economic elites; there is a system of financial manipulation with tentacles that reach into your pocket.” …

      “Inflation has been used by the Federal Reserve as the primary trigger for their monetary control policy; but it is important to understand this is by specific design.”

      “If “monetary policy“, specifically interest rates, are primarily driven by inflationary measures; and if global financial elites need to use U.S. monetary policy to finance their endeavors (they do); then those same officials need to control what goes into the measures for inflation. This is a critical aspect to economic control.”

      “Wall Street, writ large, supports corporate global expansion without appropriate regard to the downstream consequences to U.S. workers and Americans. Low interest rates are a critical component of global financial expansion undertaken by these massive multinational corporations. In essence, globalists need cheap money to spend on creating controlled markets for cheap durable goods.”

      “Higher interest rates means savers benefit and borrowers do not. Low interest rates means borrowers benefit and savers do not. This is a simple truism. However, there’s another dynamic.”

      “Higher interest rates means less capacity for multinational corporations to utilize cheap money to expand their global enterprises. Low interest rates means more easily attainable money; and that finances larger corporate expansion.”

      “Outsourcing American jobs meant cheaper goods; those cheaper durable goods were quantified in the feds measure of inflation; the prices of those goods were deflationary (getting cheaper); the U.S. economy was shrinking but the justification for lower interest rates (cheap money that benefited the global expansion) remained.”

      “Now, here comes Trump.
      Trump walks in with a plan to reverse that process through MAGAnomic policy. Wall Street is no longer driving the political policy of the President; Main Street is.”

      “As we navigate in the space between a de-emphasized Wall Street economy and a re-emphasized -and more balanced- Main Street economy, the prices on durable manufactured goods will begin to rise; and over-time the domestic production of those goods will return as the total cost of production (including shipping costs) are re-estimated and equalized.”

      “The system is currently rigged with a favorable lean toward the multinationals.
      This is structurally Wall Street -vs- Main Street and President Trump constantly telling the Fed to stop messing with the economy. MAGAnomics is the reestablishment of an economic system that naturally balances itself over time; it does not need intervention.”
      [Taken from TheConservativeTreehouse site December 12, 2018. The complete article is at the site]

  13. Kimberly: in regards to chicken feed or sweet feed for cattle. We use a barrel very similar to this: https://tinyurl.com/y4h4utps
    of course what we bought was military surplus and 1/10th the price. but this barrel with the lid lock, has kept out coons, squirrels and various varmints. I usually by about 10 bags (50 lb) at a time of layer crumbles and scratch and have not had a problem storing it. Same for the sweet feed for the cows.

  14. Weve got corn going in here in the northeast i wouldnt worry about it. Some corn is going in late and i wouldnt be surprised that farmers are throwing in some shorter day corn like a 60 day maturity vs the 90 day. The thing you may notice as i do is a slightly shorter cob lengths due to the lateness and that could vary depending on our summer weather.

  15. Am I the only one that uses an old non functional chest freezer to store bags of feed? Clean, dry, vermin proof storage. You could probably drop in some CO2. The gasket would probably hold it since it’s heavier than air, if you wanted to use it for medium term storage.

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