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(Continued from page 12)
or were not functioning at all.
The Russians also lost millions of
dollars worth of grain exports. Ordi–
narily, the U.S.S.R. exports siz–
able quantities of wheat to other
countries, mostly eastern European
nations and others such as Chile.
with which the U.S.S.R. has strong
bonds. But in 1972, Russia was un–
able to export any grain from her
own harvest. As a result, it had to
import grain from the United States
and other countries, then give or sell
this same wheat to fulfill prior com–
mitments to allies.
Gambling Big
In four of the five years leading
up to the 1972 debacle, the U.S.S.R.
allowed its grain reserves to dwin–
dle, instead of maintaining a pru–
dent surplus. The total stored sur–
plus dropped by 860 million bushels
- over twice what the U.S.S.R. was
forced to import from the U.S.A.
The Soviets didn't run into
troub1e with thís gamble earlier be–
cause the bumper harvests of 1968,
1970 and 1971 made up for the defi–
cit.
Suddenly,
in
1972, the weather
drew an ace, and Russia lost a big
chunk of her harvest. Just as all
gamblers eventually lose, so did the
U.S.S.R.
The U.S. Gambles
The Russians aren't the only ones
who are rolling dice against nature.
The United States pulled in a big
pot of cash this year by belting
about a third of its wheat stocks
against next year's harvest.
As
As–
sistant Agriculture Secretary Carroll
G. Brunthaver put it, the United
States is now down to a "prudent
minimum reserve," and the Soviet
purchases have created "a potential
shortage" of wheat in the United
States. Under ordinary circum–
stances, this will create no major
problem. The United States has had
bumper wheat crops for severa!
years running. lt would now be
ironic
if
the United States - in de-
16
pleting her grain reserves - would
face a similar disaster to that which
sent the Soviet Union crying for
help. No nation is immune to
droughts and crop failures. And in
light of the warnings by mete–
orologists and plant pathologists,
the United States, as any other na–
tion, should wisely consider its ca–
pacity to weather a severe drought.
Dr. Irving P. Krick, noted mete–
orologist and weather engineer, has
warned the United States that its
southern plains arca is in for a ma–
jor drought in the 1970's. Though
the U.S. Weather Service is not so
willing as Dr. Krick to make such a
prediction, Krick's record over the
years is impressive.
In 1969, he predicted a major
drought in the early 1970's for Okla–
homa, the Texas Panhandle and
other nearby arcas. True to his pre–
dictions, this region suffered sharp
drops in precipitation in 1970.
Much of the wheat crop in these
arcas was lost in the spring of 1971
as the drought spread as far west as
California and as far east as Florida.
Krick expects the drought to persist
and spread north through major
U.S. and Canadian wheat lands,
peaking sometime between 197
5
and 1978.
The Threat of Crop Disease
Drought, though devastating, is
not the only potential problem fac–
ing American grain growers. The
National Academy of Sciences re–
cently published an unusually sig–
nificant book entitled
Genetic
Vulnerability of Major Crops.
This
book, put together by a blue-ribbon
panel of agronomists after the corn–
blight disaster of 1970, cites the vul–
nerability of major food crops to
disease. lt warns:
"Monoculture of wheat over a
wide area probably represents the
chief potential vulnerability. Theo–
retically, a microorganism, insect , or
condition capable of injuring one
plant could similarly affect
all
other
plants of the variety."
Perhaps the Russians had no im–
mediate warnings of possible crop
failures. But the United States and
other great agricultural nations have
been warned many times over the
past years by reputable scientists
and by the pages of
The
PLAIN
TRUTH that droughts ·are recurren!
and that disease epidemics and
in–
sect plagues are not only possible,
but inevitable - unless our entire
way of life is changed. Greed and
selfishness mus t give way to concern
for the soil and concem for others'
needs. (For more information on
this aspect, write for our free book–
let,
World Crisis in Agriculture.)
The Patriarch Joseph, of Biblical
fame, put away seven years of food
reserves when he was warned of
drought. When the drought carne,
ancient Egypt was prepared and
could help other nations, too. Com–
pare this to the Russians, who de–
pleted their stocks for four years out
of five. When their drought carne,
they were in big trouble and had to
tum to the West to supply the bread
for their tables. Now, American
grain stocks are also depleted.
The sale of grain reserves by any
nation must take into consíderation
fickle weather patterns. Of course,
any nation should be willing to help
another
in
need. But to sell vast
grain reserves purely from a profit
motive is to court potential disaster.
The United States is in a position
now where this year's harvest
must
come
in
for there to be sufficient
food supplies at bearable prices. To
put it simply, the United States uses
nearly 800 million bushels of wheat
each year, but only has 540 million
bushels in reserve to meet emer–
gencies. And it is still se lling
that.
Perhaps, sooner than the world
expects, this ancient saying will
come to pass, "The harvest is past,
the summer is ended, and we are
not saved." If it does, will the world
be as kind to the United States and
Canada as these countries have
been to the world?
O
PLAIN TRUTH February 1973