China Desert

[cornhead64]

I was chatting with my renter and he told me about a documentary on one of the cable channels about the growing desert in China.  I did a quick Google and found:

http://enviro-map.com/chinas-gobi-desert

with an increase in size of the Gobi desert has increased in size by 25,000 square miles since 1994 !!!!

We both thought it was ironic that neither of us has seen much press on it, and thought if this was happening in the the Midwest (of the US) it would be everywhere !!!!!1

Any thoughts on how this could affect long-term demand for corn, and beans for sure ?

corny

[sonoma72]

there has been quite a few stories on this on ch. 193, 194, the science and green channels on dish, of course most people don't get these channels.  If you google desertification of china, quite a few articles are available, http://www.gluckman.com/ChinaDesert.html  From the reading I have done, the soviet/communist type ag policies followed by the chinese, have led to massive overgrazing, etc.  Desert ecosystems are very fragile, as they are finding out.

[Canuck_2]

While not aware of the growing desert I have been watching stories about drought in the north east. Shandong province is one area that has been mentioned. Perhaps that is adding to the desert or blamed on the same changing climate.

Parts of northern, central and eastern China have been gripped by drought for more than three months, with deteriorated conditions in major winter wheat regions.

Drought has affected winter wheat crops in 17 percent of growing areas in the northern bread basket and dry weather is forecast to extend until spring, the government said last month.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2011/01/25/2003494390

Maybe that is one factor in the wheat story as well as other grain markets.

[nwobcw]

  I saw a show on either the history or discovery channel on this within the last year and posted a comment on here and got no response.  If it is true it's no wonder China is in the market so big.

[k-289]

Looks like having the largest man military on the globe doesn't quite solve everything--maybe they should stay home and solve their own problems instead of pillaging  African and South American resources with there wallymart $$$$-