#Record Wheat Crop

[entegrasignaturestructures]

Harvesting Leading to Record Wheat Crop in Australia

Australia's wheat farmers have reason to celebrate as they set a new record wheat crop despite rain damage. This achievement is a testament to the resilience and hard work of the Australian agriculture industry.

[homunculus-argument]

For most of recorded history, Finland was one of the poorest corners of Europe, a backcountry inhabited by peasants who weren't merely illiterate, but whose spoken language did not even have a written form. People kept cattle and grew barley, oats, wheat and rye, and if the weather destroyed your crops you just starved. And if the weather destroyed everyone's crops, famine wiped out entire villages and foreign kings did not care.

During times of famine people made bread out of pettu, dried-up strips of pine trees' cambium and pholem - so the bit between the wood and the bark - ground up and either mixed into the scarce flour that was still left, or substituting flour altogether. It doesn't digest well, you can't eat it quite like bread - but it has more fibre than rye flour and actually fairly good content of some vitamins, and about a quarter of the caloric energy value.

Due to the last few, apparently pettu flour is actually sold in some herbalist shops along with other fancy luxury item natural products like seaweed and kombucha, and it's way fucking more expensive than regular flour. You can't harvest it yourself, either, since you can't scrape it out without injuring the tree and therefore it isn't covered by the free foraging law.

Modern well-fed, non-land owning millenials can't afford their ancestors' bleakest famine bread.

[breelandwalker]

Sturgeon Supermoon - August 19 2024

Buckle up, witches - we've got supermoons on the horizon and August begins the wild ride!

Sturgeon Supermoon - August 19, 2024

The Sturgeon Moon is the name given to the first full moon in August. The name comes from the plentiful numbers of sturgeon which appear around this time of year.

Sturgeons are living prehistoric relics, examples of which appear in the fossil record as far back as 200 million years ago. Today, they are endangered due to overfishing, pollution, and habitat loss, but giant sturgeons growing up to 12ft (3.65m) long were once a common sight in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain in North America.

Other North American Indigenous names for this moon include Flying Up Moon (Cree), Corn Moon (Algonquin and Ojibwe), Harvest Moon (Dakota), Dry Moon (Catawba), Mountain Shadows Moon (Tlingit), and Black Cherries Moon (Assiniboine). European names for this moon include Haymaking Moon (Norse), Lightning Moon (English), and Grain Moon (Anglo-Saxon).

It's also interesting to note that in China, the seventh full moon of the lunar year is called the Hungry Ghost Moon, during which spirits of departed ancestors visit their relatives and homes, and trickster spirits may cause mayhem among the living if not properly appeased. Food offerings and incense are put out for ancestor spirits, families visit gravesites to offer prayers and site maintenance, and festival dances and floating lanterns celebrate the honored dead.

What Does It Mean For Witches?

The August full moon is the first of FOUR CONSECUTIVE SUPERMOONS for the 2024 calendar year. So if you've got a lunar magic inclination and the patience for a long-term working, this a great time to start making things happen!

Peak illumination will occur at 2:26pm EST so tonight's moon will be big and bright and full of potential.

August's full moon is technically both a supermoon AND a seasonal blue moon. A blue moon is the second full moon occurring in a calendar month. A seasonal blue moon is the third full moon in a season when four full moons occur. September's full moon falls before the autumn equinox this year.

Both blue moons and supermoons are particularly advantageous times for spellwork, especially that which involves the fulfillment of goals, desires, and wishes, or the culmination of long-term plans. It's also a great time to start new projects and set new goals for the fall and winter.

Supermoons carry your magical workings forward with a little dash of extra strength and vigor, and may provide extra clarity during divination or reflection. It's also the perfect time for spells related to wishmaking and abundance, drawing in the appearance of something long-awaited or extra bit of luck or prosperity you've been needing. And with three more supermoons coming our way in September, October, and November, this is a particularly advantageous time to begin a long-term working that will culminate toward the end of the year.

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

In August, we harvest one set of crops and sow another, reaping the rewards of our previous efforts and planting the seeds of future success. Look back on the magical workings you've done so far this year - how are they working out? Have any of your spells produced especially notable results? Go back and add to your notes, making sure to record anything that worked particularly well. (And also anything that DIDN'T work well. Remember that failure is a learning experience too.)

Evaluate your progress and reflect on what you want to carry forward and what you might need to put on hold or just let go for the time being. If you're partial to divination, a reading may help to provide some additional clarity on your current status, as well as some perspective on the possibilities for the near future.

Celebrate the harvest of grain and corn with your favorite recipes or a summer picnic. But don't just limit yourself to corn and wheat! Late summer fruits are also ripe and make a tasty addition to any table.

Set your intentions and your goals for the latter part of the year and start preparing for the autumn and winter. It may seem silly to prepare for the cold when the weather is still blazing hot, but it will be here before you know it. Take time for one more summer beach trip or camping excursion before the hustle and bustle of the fall sets in.

The observation of blue moons and supermoons as magical occasions are a modern addition to witchcraft, but the lack of antiquity doesn't mean there's any shortage of metaphysical potential!

Prepare for a bountiful fall season with lots of opportunities to make things happen. Set yourself up for success by making your wants and needs clear in your spellwork. Attend to practical matters to remove whatever obstacles you can and clear the way for your hard work and magical endeavors to pay off.

Set out a big jug of potable water each month to catch the light of the supermoons between now and November - it will be great for cleansing, protection, wish-making, and drinkable potion bases later! If you've got wildcrafted or garden-grown herbs with a lunar alignment, or which correspond to prosperity, success, and strength, harvest a few this evening and keep them specially labeled for future workings. And remember to put out your moon jars!

All in all, this month's full moon is supercharged with lunar energy and primed for magical workings, so make your spells count!

Happy Sturgeon Moon, witches! 🌕🐟

Further Reading:

Additional Lunar Calendar posts by Bree NicGarran

2024 Witches' Calendar post by Bree NicGarran

Supermoon in August 2024: The First of the Year!, The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Hooked on the Magic of August’s Full Sturgeon Moon, The Peculiar Brunette.

Hungry Ghost Festival, China Travel, June 20 2023.

Sturgeon, Wikipedia Article.

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2004.

Image Credit: "Leaping Gulf Sturgeon," by Dawn Witherington

(If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar, subscribe to my monthly show Hex Positive, or check out my published works on Amazon and in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[todaysdocument]

Homestead Proof Testimony of Almanzo Wilder

Record Group 49: Records of the Bureau of Land ManagementSeries: Homestead Final Certificates

HOMESTEAD PROOF --- TESTIMONY OF WITNESS A. J. Sheldon being called as a witness in support of the Homestead entry of Almanzo J Wilder for NE- 21-111-56. testifies as follows: Ques. 1-What is your occupation, and where is your residence? Ans. Farmer Sec 10-111-56. Ques. 2-Have you been well acquainted with Almanzo J Wilder the claimant, in this case ever since he made his Homestead entry No. Ans. Yes. for 5 year. [^I think] he had taken his land at [Yorktown] about 3 weeks before I met him. Ques. 3-Was claimant qualified to make said entry? (State whether the settler was a citizen of the United States, over the age of twenty-one years, or the head of a family, and whether he ever made a former Homestead entry.) Ans. Yes. Citizen of U.S. over 21 yer old. Single. Never made former hd entry. Ques. 4-When did claimant settle upon the homestead and at what date did he establish actual residence thereon? (Describe the dwelling and other improvements, giving total value thereof.) Ans. About Oct. 1st 1879. same time. House - frame about 12 ft. square. 2 doors. 3 windows. Stable. frame. Well of water. Cellar. Acres broken & cultivated. Some trees. Value at least $300.00 Ques. 5-Have claimant and family resided continuously on the homestead since first establishing residence thereon? Ans. Single man. Residence continuous Ques. 6-For what period or periods has the settler been absent from the land since making settle- ment, and for what purpose; and if temporarily absent, did claimant's family reside upon and culti- vate the land during such absence? Ans. Was temporarily absent [^at times] working on the R. R. and visiting in Minn. Not more that about 2 months at a time. Ques. 7 -How much of the homestead has the settler cultivated, and for how many seasons did he raise crops thereon? Ans. Acre cultivated. crops on past 4 years. breaking 5 yr. about 20 acres of wheat this year. 1884 Ques. 8-Are there any indications of coal, salines or other minerals of any kind on the Homestead? (If so, describe what they are, and state whether the land is more valuable for agricultural than for mineral purposes.) As. No. No. No. More valuable for agriculture Ques. 9-Has the claimant mortgaged, sold, or contracted to sell, any portion of said Homestead? As. Not to my knowlidge Ques 10-Are you interested in this claim, and do you think the settler has acted in entire good faith in perfecting this entry? Ans. No. nor am I in any way related to claimant. Think he has acted in good faith. A. J. Sheldon I hereby certify that the witness is a person of respectability; that the foregoing testimony was read to him before being subscribed, and was sworn to before me this 12 day of September 1884 W J Barnes +ex officio clerk (See NOTE ON FOURTH PAGE.)

HOMESTEAD PROOF---TESTIMONY OF WITNESS

OC Sheldon being called as witness in support of the Homestead

entry of Almanzo J Wilder for NE 4-21-111-56

testifies as follows:

Ques. 1-What is your occupation, and where is your residence?

Ans. Farmer Sec-10-111-56-

Ques. 2-Have you been well acquainted with Almanzo J Wilder

the claimant, in this case ever since he made his Homestead entry No.

Ans. Yes. for 5 years think he made his hd entry about

3 weeks before I met him.

Ques. 3-Was claimant qualified to make said entry? (State whether the settler was a citizen of

the United States, over the age of twenty-one years, or the head of a family, and whether he ever made

a former Homestead entry.)

Ans. Yes. citizen of U.S. over 21 years old

never made former hd entry

Ques. 4-When did claimant settle upon the homestead and at what date did he establish actual

residence thereon? (Describe the dwelling and other improvements, giving total value thereof.)

Ans. In [fore] part of October 1879 Residence same time.

House 12 by 12 ft frame. 2 doors 1. window stable. cellar

well of water 32 acre broken & cultivated, [sum total]

value $300

Ques. 5-Have claimant and family resided continuously on the homestead since first establishing

residence thereon?

Ans. Single man. Residence continuous

Ques. 6-For what period or periods has the settler been absent from the land since making settle-

ment, and for what purpose; and if temporarily absent, did claimant's family reside upon and culti-

vate the land during such absence?

Ans. Was temporarily absent working on R.R. and

in Minnesota during first winter. [Neccesarily] to

get money to improve his land

Ques. 7-How much of the homestead has the settler cultivated, and for how many seasons did he

raise crops thereon?

Ans. 32 acres cultivated. crops on part 4 years-making 5 [gr.]

20 acres cropped this year 1884

Ques. 8-Are there any indications of coal, salines or other minerals of any kind on the Homestead?

(If so, describe what they are, and state whether the land is more valuable for agricultural than for

mineral purposes.)

Ans. No. No. No. more valuable for agriculture

Ques. 9-Has the claimant mortgaged, sold, or contracted to sell, any portion of said Homestead?

Ans. no no no

Ques. 10-Are you interested in this claim; and do you think the settler has acted in entire good

faith in perfecting this entry?

Ans. No. nor am I in any way related to claimant

think he has acted in good faith. O. C. Sheldon

I hereby certify that the witness is a person of respectability; that the foregoing testimony was read

to him before being subscribed, and was sworn to before me this 12

day of September 1884

OC St W [J] Barnes

+ex officio clerk

[samwisethewitch]

Pagan Wedding Flowers (and other plants) Cheat Sheet

Flowers have been associated with weddings for almost as long as humans have been getting married. In fact, the use of flowers in ritual may actually be older than humans! Neanderthal graves in Iraq suggest that Neanderthals buried their dead with flowers. There are mentions of flowers in our earliest recorded accounts of weddings, such as in Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Historically, couples would have used whatever flowers were available to them. While some cultures had flowers they preferred for weddings because of their symbolism, couples would have been limited by what grew in their area and by what was in bloom at the time of their ceremony. To be truly as historically accurate as possible, consider using flowers you grew or foraged yourself. Bonus points for native blooms!

For those who aren't into growing or gathering your own wedding flowers, modern florists and greenhouses allow us to choose from a wide range of flowers, many of which aren't native to our homes. This makes it much easier to choose flowers based on their symbolism, history, or cultural meaning.

Historic Wedding Flowers + Plants

Roses have been the flower of choice for Western weddings pretty much forever, and with good reason. The rose is associated with several ancient goddesses of sex, fertility, and/or romance, such as Inanna, Ishtar, Aphrodite, and Venus. (Later, medieval Christians would also associate this flower with the Virgin Mary.) Including the goddess's flowers in a wedding may have been a way of invoking her blessing on the union. Sappho called rose "Queen of the Flowers."

Roses are held in a high regard in pretty much every culture with access to them. They're strongly associated not only with love, but also with beauty, wholeness, blessings, and even spirituality.

Rose was included in wedding celebrations in Ancient Hellos (Greece) and Rome. It is associated with the planet Venus and the water element.

Wheat was also a popular inclusion in weddings in ancient Greece and Rome. Hellenic brides would carry sheaths of wheat or another grain to invoke fertility and good fortune. Wheat was strongly associated with agrarian goddesses like Demeter, Persephone, Ceres, and Proserpina. Carrying wheat may also have been a way of expressing a wish for the marriage to produce many children. Pliny the Elder explicitly says in his Natural History that wheat was included in weddings to honor Ceres.

In modern occult systems, wheat is associated with fertility, the conception of children, and wealth. It is associated with the planet Venus and the element of earth.

Olive branches also featured in Hellenic weddings. Olive was an important crop in the ancient Mediterranean, and olive branches were a symbol of peace and friendship. Olive was also used in the victors' crowns in the Olympic Games. In Athens, the olive tree was a symbol of Athena. It was also carried by worshipers of Apollo when they visited the Oracle at Delphi. Olive was also important to the Romans, who associated it with Mars in his aspect as a protector of peace.

In modern magic traditions, olive is associated with beauty, healing, stamina, wealth, fertility, protection and of course, peace. It is associated with the sun and the fire element.

Orange blossoms were included in Hellenic weddings as a sign of happiness. These strongly scented white flowers also sometimes appeared in Roman weddings. Thousands of years later, Queen Victoria wore a crown of orange blossoms at her wedding, but for her they were a symbol of chastity.

In modern systems, orange is associated with joy, partnership, sweetness, and good luck. It is associated with the sun and the fire element.

Hawthorn appeared in weddings in ancient Rome. Pliny the Elder said that Roman bridal processions included a hawthorn torch dedicated to the goddess Ceres. In Rome, hawthorn was more generally associated with love and good luck.

In Celtic cultures, especially Ireland, hawthorn was believed to be a fairy tree. For this reason, cutting a hawthorn tree or bringing hawthorn branches inside was considered bad luck.

The blooming of hawthorn trees was used to determine the date of Bealtaine, and hawthorn boughs were often decorated with flowers, ribbons, and egg shells to make a May bush, which was placed by the front door for good luck. In Britain, hawthorn wood was used to carve maypoles. Hawthorn flowers may be especially appropriate for a May wedding or handfasting.

In modern occultism, hawthorn is associated with protection, healing (especially healing the heart), romantic love, fertility, granting wishes, and happiness. It is still strongly associated with weddings and marriage. It is associated with the planet Mars and the fire element.

Lotus may have featured in ancient Kemetic (Egyptian) weddings. The lotus was an important symbol in Kemetic religion, and was associated with the sun, rebirth, and the creation of the world. Lotus flowers featured in festivals to honor Hapi, the androgynous god of the Nile. The lotus is used in art to represent Upper Egypt. An Egyptian poem from 1100 BCE connects the lotus to marriage.

Lotus flowers were also popular in ancient Chinese weddings, and they're still used by some Chinese couples today. In Chinese culture, lotus represents purity, honor, and long life.

In modern traditions, lotus is associated with protection, spirituality, and blessings. It is associated with the moon and the water element.

Yellow flowers were used in pre-Christian Ireland for blessings and protection. The exact flower used for these rituals is not specified, so it seems like the color was what mattered. Modern pagans looking to carry on this tradition have lots of yellow flowers to choose from. Some popular choices include yellow roses (see above), yellow amaryllis (associated with creativity, playfulness, and joy), chrysanthemum (associated with long life, optimism, and protection), marigold (associated with happiness, rebirth, and vitality), and/or daffodils (associated with love, fertility, and luck).

Modern Wedding Flowers

We've gone over some of the flowers that were popular in historic pagan weddings, but it's also easy to pagan-ify the flowers that are most popular in modern weddings. Here's a quick rundown of some popular wedding blooms and their neopagan and occult symbolism:

Peony is associated with purification, healing, prosperity, and success. In ancient Rome, peony was believed to be sacred to Mars. It is associated with the sun and the fire element.

Dahlia is associated with mystery, occult wisdom, and transformation. It is associated with the moon and the water element.

Lilac is associated with balance, peace, romance, protection from evil, and attracting friendly spirits. It is associated with Venus and the water element.

Sweet Pea is associated with comfort, charm, and sweetness. It is associated with Venus and the water element.

Hydrangea is associated with healthy boundaries, breaking negative patterns, hex breaking, and protection. It is associated with water and with both the moon and Neptune.

Tulip is associated with beauty, desire, gratitude, love, prosperity, and simplicity. It is associated with Venus and the earth element.

Orchid is associated with beauty, elegance, sexuality, fertility, and romance. It is associated with Venus and the water element.

Lily is associated with spirituality, beauty, harmony, and protection from the evil eye. It is associated with Venus and the water element.

Carnation is associated with beauty, love, rebirth, strength, and healing. Carnations are associated with same-gender love and especially love between men because of Oscar Wilde's fondness for them. They are associated with the sun and the fire element.

Gardenia is associated with love, peace, healing, and spirituality. It is associated with the moon and the water element.

Resources:

"New Neanderthal remains associated with the ‘flower burial’ at Shanidar Cave," Cambridge University Press

"History of Wedding Flowers" by Benna Crawford

The Roman Wedding by Karen K. Hersch

"The Olive in the Ancient Mediterranean" by Mark Cartwright

"The History, Mythology, and Offerings of Hawthorn" by Meghan Pivarnik

Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler

Temple of the Cosmos by Jeremy Naydler

The Magic of Flowers by Tess Whitehurst

The Magic of Trees by Tess Whitehurst (see my disclaimer about Whitehurst's books, but these are some of her better ones)

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham

[elbiotipo]

What would be the main differences between a template forest and a tropical jungle for fantasy? I guess that things like iron armor pieces would never become a thing since historically they weren't popular in other hot climates, winters without snow might be less feared but summers with big floods might be more worrisome? I guess that cuisine and farming would also be massively different although I don't know exactly how.

Out of the top of my head:

Equatorial climates are notoriously stable, since it's always the same day lenght there are no seasons, especially if you live near the ocean which estabilizes the temperature. You will get dry and wet seasons (and sometimes even hurricane seasons) depending on particular geographic conditions

Tropical/subtropical climates often have harsher seasons the farther away from the ocean they are, but never snow (that's the difference actually; temperate climates can get snow, subtropical can get frost but not snow, tropical neither). So yes, in general in a tropical or subtropical the main difference between seasons is rain, and perhaps frost which does play a role in some plants like citrics. Rainforests, of course, get it all year, subtropical forests have dry and rainy seasons. You can see a mixture of both: in my home (Northern Argentina) we do get marked winters with ocassional frost, but the main fact is that they're dry compared to summer.

ANYWAYS. Cultural stuff! Yes, one of the main differences you will find is clothing. It's difficult to make generalizations, but overall, tropical cultures just wear less, if there is armor at all. Don't get mistaken and say that it's because they don't have metallurgy, though, it's just that metal armor is indeed heavy, hot, and not much use if the opponet isn't wearing anything either. At most, you would see padded cloth armor (cotton mostly) or hide/leather at most. If you look at soldiers from, for example, Mesoamerica or Southeast Asia, you will find little armor.

Similarily, while you can go wild with noble clothing and colors, and the preferred materials are indeed cotton or silk, you will find very simple clothes among the general population. To give you an idea, here's a sample of Aztec clothes (including armor!)

Note how simple and lightweight they are, even for rulers. They are colorful too (the artist, Daniel Parada, has more pictures like this for other cultures based on historical records) but although tropical enviroments might seem to have greater access to dyes, medieval european did also have dyes, often not as vibrant as carmine though.

Farming, of course, affects cuisine. I think that instead of thinking about a "pan-tropical" farming, we could analyze this by centers of origin of crops:

From Southeast Asia we got soy, several types of beans (or Fabaceae if you wanna get technical), all citrics, mango, banana, pear, cherry,, but this pales in comparison to rice, of course. Rice defines the tropical and subtropical diet of Asia, being what wheat is to the Mediterranean. Rice cultivation is particular in that is labor extensive, much more productive by area compared to other crops (so smaller plots) and requires extensive irrigation, resulting in complex managed enviroments.

From tropical America we got manioc, squashes (all sorts of curcubita actually), beans, peppers, pineapples, papaya, so much more, but it's especifically from Mesoamerica we got corn, and from the Andes we got potatoes. Potatoes are key in cold climates. Meanwhile, the corn-beans-squash trio, that is known in North America as "three sisters" and in Latin America as "milpa" is spread all over the continent. These three kinds of plants are very adaptable to tropical and subtropical conditions, and combined are very productive.

I will admit that my knowledge about tropical Africa is less than ideal. There are native species of rice that can be found in Western Africa, Ethiopia has traditionally grown barley and sorghum (and is the home of coffee), and millet, like corn for the Americas, seem to be widespread.

As for spices, tropical areas do seem to be blessed with spices, this is true. I recommend this guy to tell you about it. Hell, I recommend his channel in general.

What IS a common theme, regardless, is that jungles are NOT pristine enviroments or wild enviroments untouched by human activity. Jungles have been managed, in overt ways (like for example, rice cultivation) or more subtle ways (planting domesticated species inside the forest) for thousands of years. This is also done by controlled burns, conscious planting, or even accidental things, like, for example, peoples settling in a place and bringing domesticated plants to that place that then grow semi-wildly.

THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING TO TALK ABOUT BECAUSE EVEN IF I STUDY THIS EXACT THING, I HAVE NO REAL DEFINITION OF IT YOU CAN SEARCH. You can find about this phenomenon of "humans managing and changing forest enviroments" by lots of terms, like agroforestry, silviculture, and so many more. The term I use is "landscape management" (no, not "landscaping") where a "landscape" is a term for an enviroment were both humans and natural factors build it (like I said, there is no thing as "pristine nature" ALL natural enviroments have been managed and modified by humans, and you can find evidence of that in tropical America, Asia, and Africa).

In fact, the reason why those enviroments seem "natural" and unchanged to Western views is precisely, because tropical cultures often use wood and adobe to build structures (if they have them at all), which don'r preserve well at all. But also, jungles are fast growing and often eat everything, remaining, interestingly, these subtle domestication and managment efforts in what once were thriving settlements.

Which doesn't mean you haven't tropical cultures to study. THERE ARE PLENTY. You got, like I said, the whole of tropical America, tropical Africa, and tropical Asia and Oceania. It is getting very difficult to me to generalize, and yet, one can see some similarities.

Since this post is general enough, I encourage you to ask more about what you want. What would you like me to focus on?

oh, and you can throw me a tip, if you want! Sorry for selling out, but I'm living under an insane libertarian president right now, so every bit helps!

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this EcoWatch story:

In England, wet weather brought on by climate change has led to the second-worst harvest on record, affecting everything from wine grapes to wheat.

As The Guardian reported, a longer stretch of cold, wet weather from fall to early summer has led to wine grape harvests that are down by 33% to 75%, depending on the region. According to World Weather Attribution, rain in the UK from late 2023 into early 2024 was 20% more intense because of climate change.

For 2024, the UK Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) found that the wheat harvest in England was around 10 million metric tons, which was down 22% compared to the 2023 harvest. The decline reflects both a decrease in the wheat yield and the area that was used for wheat farming.

Other major crops also saw declines, with a decrease of 26% in barley harvested in the winter (although the spring harvest of barley saw a 41% increase). Oilseed rape production declined significantly, yielding 687,000 metric tons in 2024, a 33% decline compared to 2023. 

The wheat straw production is also expected to decline further, yielding 2.4 million metric tons and representing a 17% decline.

According to Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), England imports about half of its food, so when harvests are poor, the country must spend more to import more. But extreme heat and climate change are impacting other countries as well, leading to more strain on food security and food costs.

ECIU estimated that there could be major financial losses totaling £600 million ($784 million) on just five crops: wheat, winter barley, spring barley, oats, and oilseed rape. In total, these crops represented a 15% decline compared to 2023 and an 18% decline over the 5-year average.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

1937, World's Highest Standard of Living :: Margaret Bourke-White

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 28, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 29, 2024

On Monday, October 28, 1929, New York’s Metropolitan Opera Company opened its forty-fifth season.

Four thousand attendees in their finest clothes strolled to the elegant building on foot or traveled in one of a thousand limousines to see Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, the melodramatic story of an innocent French girl seduced by wealth, whose reluctance to leave her riches for true love leads to her arrest and tragic death. Photographers captured images of the era’s social celebrities as they arrived at opening night, their flash bulbs blinding the crowd that had gathered to see the famous faces and expensive gowns.

No one toasting the beginning of the opera season that night knew they were marking the end of an era.

At ten o’clock the next morning, when the opening gong sounded in the great hall of the New York Stock Exchange, men began to unload their stocks. So fast did trading go that by the end of the day, the ticker recording transactions ran two and a half hours late. When the final tally could be read, it showed that an extraordinary 16,410,030 shares had traded hands, and the market had lost $14 billion. The market had been uneasy for weeks before the twenty-ninth, but Black Tuesday began a slide that seemingly would not end. By mid-November the industrial average was half of what it had been in September. The economic boom that had fueled the Roaring Twenties was over.

Once the bottom fell out of the stock market, the economy ground down. Manufacturing output dropped to levels lower than those of 1913. The production of pig iron fell to what it had been in the 1890s. Foreign trade dropped by $7 billion, down to just $3 billion. The price of wheat fell from $1.05 a bushel to 39 cents; corn dropped from 81 to 33 cents; cotton fell from 17 to 6 cents a pound. Prices dropped so low that selling crops meant taking a loss, so struggling farmers simply let them rot in the fields. 

By 1932, over one million people in New York City were unemployed. By 1933 the number of unemployed across the nation rose to 13 million people—one out of every four American workers. Unable to afford rent or pay mortgages, people lived in shelters made of packing boxes.

No one knew how to combat the Great Depression, but certain wealthy Americans were sure they knew what had caused it. The problem, they said, was that poor Americans refused to work hard enough and were draining the economy. They must be forced to take less. “Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate the farmers, liquidate real estate,” Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon told President Herbert Hoover. “It will purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high living will come down. People will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up the wrecks from less competent people.” 

Slash government spending, agreed the Chicago Tribune: lay off teachers and government workers, and demand that those who remain accept lower wages. Richard Whitney, a former president of the Stock Exchange, told the Senate that the only way to restart the economy was to cut government salaries and veterans’ benefits (although he told them that his own salary—which at sixty thousand dollars was six times higher than theirs—was “very little” and couldn’t be reduced).

President Hoover knew little about finances, let alone how to fix an economic crisis of global proportions. He tried to reverse the economic slide by cutting taxes and reassuring Americans that “the fundamental business of the country, that is, production and distribution of commodities, is on a sound and prosperous basis.” 

But taxes were already so low that most folks would see only a few extra dollars a year from the cuts, and the fundamental business of the country was not, in fact, sound. When suffering Americans begged for public works programs to provide jobs, Hoover insisted that such programs were a “soak the rich” program that would “enslave” taxpayers, and called instead for private charity.

By the time Hoover’s term ended, Americans were ready to try a new approach to economic recovery. They refused to reelect Hoover and turned instead to New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who promised to use the federal government to provide jobs and a safety net to enable Americans to weather hard times. He promised the American people a “New Deal”: a government that would work for everyone, not just for the wealthy and well connected.

As soon as Roosevelt was in office, Democrats began to pass laws protecting workers’ rights, providing government jobs, regulating business and banking, and beginning to chip away at the racial segregation of the American South. New Deal policies employed more than 8.5 million people, built more than 650,000 miles of highways, built or repaired more than 120,000 bridges, and put up more than 125,000 buildings. 

They regulated banking and the stock market and gave workers the right to bargain collectively. They established minimum wages and maximum hours for work. They provided a basic social safety net and regulated food and drug safety. And when World War II broke out, the new system enabled the United States to defend democracy successfully against fascists both at home—where they had grown strong enough to turn out almost 20,000 people to a rally at Madison Square Garden in 1939—and abroad. 

The New Deal worked so well that common men and women across the country hailed FDR as their leader, electing him an unprecedented four times. Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower built on the New Deal when voters elected him in 1952. He bolstered the nation’s infrastructure with the Federal-Aid Highway Act, which provided $25 billion to build 41,000 miles of highway across the country; added the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to the government and called for a national healthcare system.

Eisenhower nominated former Republican governor of California Earl Warren as chief justice of the Supreme Court to protect civil rights, which he would begin to do with the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision months after joining the court. Eisenhower also insisted on the vital importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to stop the Soviet Union from spreading communism throughout Europe.

Eisenhower called his vision “a middle way between untrammeled freedom of the individual and the demands of the welfare of the whole Nation.” 

The system worked: between 1945 and 1960 the nation’s gross national product (GNP) jumped by 250%, from $200 billion to $500 billion. The vast majority of Americans of both parties liked the new system that had helped the nation to recover from the Depression and to equip the Allies to win World War II. 

Politicians and commentators agreed that most Democrats and Republicans shared a “liberal consensus” that the government should regulate business, provide for basic social welfare, promote infrastructure, and protect civil rights. It seemed the country had finally created a government that best reflected democratic values. 

Indeed, that liberal consensus seemed so universal that the only place to find opposition was in entertainment. Popular radio comedian Fred Allen’s show included a caricature, Senator Beauregard Claghorn, a southern blowhard who pontificated, harrumphed, and took his reflexive hatred of the North to ridiculous extremes. A buffoon who represented the past, the Claghorn character was such a success that he starred in his own Hollywood film and later became the basis for the Looney Tunes cartoon rooster Foghorn Leghorn.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[probablyasocialecologist]

The standard legend of India’s Green Revolution centers on two propositions. First, India faced a food crisis, with farms mired in tradition and unable to feed an exploding population; and second, Borlaug’s wheat seeds led to record harvests from 1968 on, replacing import dependence with food self-sufficiency.

Recent research shows that both claims are false.

India was importing wheat in the 1960s because of policy decisions, not overpopulation. After the nation achieved independence in 1947, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru prioritized developing heavy industry. U.S. advisers encouraged this strategy and offered to provide India with surplus grain, which India accepted as cheap food for urban workers.

Meanwhile, the government urged Indian farmers to grow nonfood export crops to earn foreign currency. They switched millions of acres from rice to jute production, and by the mid-1960s India was exporting agricultural products.

Borlaug’s miracle seeds were not inherently more productive than many Indian wheat varieties. Rather, they just responded more effectively to high doses of chemical fertilizer. But while India had abundant manure from its cows, it produced almost no chemical fertilizer. It had to start spending heavily to import and subsidize fertilizer.

India did see a wheat boom after 1967, but there is evidence that this expensive new input-intensive approach was not the main cause. Rather, the Indian government established a new policy of paying higher prices for wheat. Unsurprisingly, Indian farmers planted more wheat and less of other crops.

Once India’s 1965-67 drought ended and the Green Revolution began, wheat production sped up, while production trends in other crops like rice, maize and pulses slowed down. Net food grain production, which was much more crucial than wheat production alone, actually resumed at the same growth rate as before.

But grain production became more erratic, forcing India to resume importing food by the mid-1970s. India also became dramatically more dependent on chemical fertilizer.

According to data from Indian economic and agricultural organizations, on the eve of the Green Revolution in 1965, Indian farmers needed 17 pounds (8 kilograms) of fertilizer to grow an average ton of food. By 1980, it took 96 pounds (44 kilograms). So, India replaced imports of wheat, which were virtually free food aid, with imports of fossil fuel-based fertilizer, paid for with precious international currency.

Today, India remains the world’s second-highest fertilizer importer, spending US$17.3 billion in 2022. Perversely, Green Revolution boosters call this extreme and expensive dependence “self-sufficiency.”

[justforbooks]

The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad by Simon Parkin

This fascinating history of Nikolai Vavilov and the staff at his plant institute tells a story of almost unbelievable self-sacrifice while under siege during the second world war

Is there any human endeavour as heroic or under-appreciated as plant collecting? When in 1921, at the age of 33, Nikolai Vavilov arrived in Petrograd (now St Petersburg) to take charge of the bureau of applied botany and plant breeding, he found a city racked by hunger. War followed by civil conflict had crippled Russia’s food production and distribution systems – a situation compounded by the seizure of peasants’ grain stores by the Bolsheviks – and Petrograd, once the cradle of the Russian empire, had been transformed into a graveyard. Walking along Nevsky Prospekt, Vavilov was appalled to see starving citizens queueing for mouldy bread. “Westward the sun is dropping,” observed the poet Anna Akhmatova, “and already death is chalking the doors with crosses.”

On entering the bureau, Vavilov was even more dismayed to find the heating pipes had burst and the storage units containing nearly 14,000 varieties of wheat, barley, oat and rye collected by his predecessor had been eaten by famished staff. It was, recorded a member of Vavilov’s team, “a picture of almost complete destruction”.

Yet by 1940, Vavilov had secured new premises in a former tsarist palace in the centre of the city and had amassed the largest collection of seeds in the world. It was a collection brimming with “latent life”, writes Simon Parkin in his riveting account of Vavilov’s plant institute, “a Noah’s Ark of plant matter”. Once cultivated and harvested, the seeds contained sufficient genetic material to feed not only the citizens of Leningrad, as the city had been renamed following Lenin’s death in 1924, but the entire population of the Soviet Union. In the process, Vavilov, a tireless polyglot, would become the most celebrated botanist in the world, feted by scientists from Edinburgh to New York. All the more extraordinary, then, that today he is all but forgotten, a victim of the Soviet state’s desire to erase memories of the siege and the millions who perished in the Nazi onslaught.

Karl Marx wrote that “history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”. The tragedy is that having amassed a collection with the potential to banish famine, Vavilov was arrested on the eve of war and branded “an enemy of the people”. In this, he appears to have been a victim of a bitter struggle with the peasant-agronomist Trofim Lysenko, who had rejected Mendelian genetics for Lamarckism – the idea that plants and other organisms acquire superior traits from their environments rather than from inherited genetic material. Lysenko believed that through a combination of agronomical knowhow and political will, these traits could be passed down to future generations – a theory that Stalin found appealing.

The result was that when in July 1941, the Soviet authorities began fortifying Leningrad in preparation for the German siege and evacuated precious artworks from the Hermitage, Vavilov’s collection was ignored, though whether this was deliberate or a bureaucratic oversight, Parkin cannot say. What he shows, brilliantly, is how the farce of the seeds’ non-evacuation nearly ended in a second tragedy as Vavilov’s colleagues fought to preserve the collection from raids by starving citizens and their own gnawing hunger. Incredibly, of the 250,000 seeds that Vavilov had amassed at the outbreak of war, the majority survived and by 1967, 100m acres of Russian agricultural land had been planted with material from the institute’s collection. Not only that, but wheat collected by Vavilov in Spain, Japan, Italy and Argentina was crossbred to create high-yielding winter varieties, while potatoes from Bolivia were used to breed hybrids resistant to disease. Today, 90% of the seeds and planted crops in the institute’s collection are found in no other in the world.

Writing in 1737, Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, observed: “When I consider the melancholy fate of so many of botany’s votaries, I am tempted to ask whether men are in their right mind who so desperately risk life and everything else through the love of collecting’ plants.” Imprisoned for the duration of the war, Vavilov would never return to his beloved institute and died of hunger in 1943 at a prison in western Russia. Afterwards, ashamed of their persecution of the world-renowned botanist, the authorities destroyed Vavilov’s case file and did their best to discourage journalists from writing about his achievements. The result was that it was not until the late 1970s that Vavilov’s story and the fate of his employees became more widely known. Even so, Parkin’s is the first book to have been published on the subject outside Russia.

To recreate the story, the author has drawn on the institute’s archives and the diaries and letters of the two-dozen staff to whom it fell to guard the collection during the near-900-day siege, one of the longest of any city in history. In the process, he restores Vavilov and his scientific colleagues to their rightful places in the pantheon of Soviet heroes. But perhaps Parkin’s biggest achievement is to explain how the botanists who sat out the siege resisted the temptation to consume the collection. Instead, he details how they defended the seed bank from looters and braved German bombs to plant potatoes at a field station on the perimeter of the city, thereby ensuring they would produce new tubers that could be stored and preserved for the following year.

In the process, 19 staff died, most of them of starvation while surrounded by containers that could have saved their lives. In this they were guided by the conviction that many of the samples were irreplaceable because of the loss of natural habitats from which they had been collected and that they could contain unrecognised genetic qualities. Their resolve was also a product of their loyalty to Vavilov and their belief in the importance of the scientific endeavour. As one survivor told Parkin: “It was impossible to eat [the collection], for what was involved was the cause of your life, the cause of your comrades’ lives.” Astonishingly, this resolve held despite an explicit order from Moscow to “spare nothing” to save the lives of their fellow citizens.

Although Parkin has done a remarkable job of resurrecting the story of this “forbidden garden”, he admits to frustration that his efforts “could not transport me to the white-hot centre of the story”. It is a frustration this reader shares. Despite a wealth of information about the siege, the thoughts, feelings and cravings of Vavilov’s staff remain tantalisingly out of reach. Instead, Parkin ends on a deflationary note, admitting he has no answer to the question of whether in opting to sacrifice the lives of people in the present for the benefit of future generations, the botanists made the correct moral choice.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[entegrasignaturestructures]

Despite facing severe rain damage, Australia has set a record for wheat crop harvesting leading to an optimistic outlook for Australian agriculture. Get more detailed information about Australian agriculture in this entire article. Read more.

[master-john-uk]

Indeed it is! Many lowland farms were either flooded, or had early crops washed away. And the long prolonged period of heavy rain earlier this year prevented many farms from trying to sow late crops.

My farm has faired well in comparison to many. Since 2020 the weather has had a detrimental effect on our grain crops. But being on the higher, mainly chalk Dorset Downs we did not have a major problem with flooding. Early in 2022 a number of new network of drainage ditches dug around our main fields to prevent excess surface water from washing crops away... and this has been fairly successful. We did lose some of our early sown seeds to the heavy rain, but most survived.

Our main problem was the continuance of wet weather through Spring and early Summer. The first barley and wheat crops were below standard, and could not be sold for the full market rate.

The main Summer harvest was delayed for over two weeks due to the weather. But then we had a surprisingly dry and warm August which allowed the grain crops to mature to their full potential. The boys and girls have been working hard over the last six weeks to gather the crops, and bring in the silage.

Our main harvest was completed yesterday, before the expected heavy rain. Thank you to all our farmhands! Our estimated yield is expected to be 9% lower than last October's forecast... which is better than last year.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Canola gains ground in southern Brazil

Oilseed known as the “winter soybean” is attracting farmers for its efficiency in crop rotation, profitability, and pre-set prices

Canola, an oilseed with bright yellow flowers developed through genetic improvements from Canadian rapeseed, is emerging as the top choice among winter crops in Rio Grande do Sul. Farmers in the state increased the planted area by more than 75% this year, attracted by the crop’s efficiency in rotation, profitability, and pre-arranged purchase prices at planting.

According to estimates from Emater-RS, the planted area of canola—also known as the “winter soybean” due to its price parity with Brazil’s most produced crop—reached a record 135,000 hectares this season, up from 77,000 hectares last year. Production is expected to rise from 134,000 tonnes to 226,000 tonnes, a 68.7% increase.

Alencar Paulo Rugeri, a state technical assistant at Emater-RS, notes that one of canola’s appeals is its near-closed production chain, similar to barley. Farmers plant knowing who they will sell to and with an idea of the price, which in 2024 is better than in previous years.

According to Mr. Rugeri, there’s no competition between winter crops in Rio Grande do Sul due to the availability of land for expansion. The state plants 7 million hectares in summer and 2 million hectares in winter. “Canola is a good option for producers because its production cost isn’t as high, and it has more favorable phytosanitary conditions than wheat, for example,” he said.

Continue reading.

[breelandwalker]

Sturgeon Moon - August 1, 2023

Buckle up, witches - with two supermoons in store, August is gonna be a wild ride!

Sturgeon Supermoon - August 1, 2023

The Sturgeon Moon is the name given to the first full moon in August. The name comes from the plentiful numbers of sturgeon which appear around this time of year.

Sturgeons are living prehistoric relics, examples of which appear in the fossil record as far back as 200 million years ago. Today, they are endangered due to overfishing, pollution, and habitat loss, but giant sturgeons growing up to 12ft (3.65m) long were once a common sight in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain in North America.

Other North American Indigenous names for this moon include Flying Up Moon (Cree), Corn Moon (Algonquin and Ojibwe), Harvest Moon (Dakota), Dry Moon (Catawba), Mountain Shadows Moon (Tlingit), and Black Cherries Moon (Assiniboine). European names for this moon include Haymaking Moon (Norse), Lightning Moon (English), and Grain Moon (Anglo-Saxon).

It's also interesting to note that in China, the seventh full moon of the lunar year is called the Hungry Ghost Moon, during which spirits of departed ancestors visit their relatives and homes, and trickster spirits may cause mayhem among the living if not properly appeased. Food offerings and incense are put out for ancestor spirits, families visit gravesites to offer prayers and site maintenance, and festival dances and floating lanterns celebrate the honored dead. In 2023, the Hungry Ghost Moon month will take place from August 16th to September 14th, beginning and ending on the new moons.

Blue Supermoon - August 30, 2023

Blue moons can occur when a full moon appears twice in a calendar month or four times in a season, as opposed to the usual three. August's Blue Supermoon is an example of the former, falling on the night of August 30-31 and peaking around 9:36pm EST.

This blue supermoon is especially notable, since it's the closest that our beloved satellite has been so far this year. The next time the moon will be this close to Earth again will be November 5, 2025, and we won't see another Blue Moon until August 19, 2024.

What Does It Mean For Witches?

Both blue moons and supermoons are particularly advantageous times for spellwork, especially that which involves the fulfillment of goals, desires, and wishes, or the culmination of long-term plans. It's also a great time to start new projects and set new goals for the fall and winter.

Blue moons carry your magical workings forward with a little dash of extra strength and vigor, and may provide extra clarity during divination or reflection. It's also the perfect time for spells related to second chances and abundance, drawing in that much-needed do-over or extra bit of luck or prosperity you've been needing.

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

In August, we harvest one set of crops and sow another, reaping the rewards of our previous efforts and planting the seeds of future success. Look back on the magical workings you've done so far this year - how are they working out? Have any of your spells manifested in especially notable results? Go back and add to your notes, making sure to record anything that worked particularly well.

Evaluate your progress and reflect on what you want to carry forward and what you might need to put on hold or just let go for the time being. If you're partial to divination, a reading may help to provide some additional clarity on your current status, as well as some perspective on the possibilities for the near future.

Celebrate the harvest of grain and corn with your favorite recipes or a summer picnic. This year's August moon falls on Lughnasadh, also called Lammas, and the baking of bread and corn cakes are traditional for this occasion. But don't just limit yourself to corn and wheat! Late summer fruits are also ripe and make a tasty addition to any table.

Set your intentions and your goals for the latter part of the year and start preparing for the autumn and winter. It may seem silly to prepare for the cold when the weather is still blazing hot, but it will be here before you know it. Take time for one more summer beach trip or camping excursion before the hustle and bustle of the fall sets in.

The observation of the blue moon as a magical occasion is a modern addition to witchcraft, but the lack of antiquity doesn't mean there's any shortage of metaphysical potential!

Dive into your stash of blue clothes and accessories for some color magic. (Blue is generally associated with peace, harmony, understanding, clarity, and truth.) Set out a big jug of potable water to catch the light of these double supermoons - it will be great for cleansing, protection, wish-making, and drinkable potion bases later!

All in all, August is supercharged with lunar energy and primed for magical workings, so make your spells count!

Happy Sturgeon Moon, witches! 🌕🐟

Further Reading:

Additional Lunar Calendar posts by Bree NicGarran

Sturgeon Full and Blue Moon: August 2023, The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Sturgeon Moon 2023: The Unique Supermoon Meaning of August, The Peculiar Brunette.

Blue Moon Meaning and Astonishing Spiritual Secrets in 2023, The Peculiar Brunette.

Hungry Ghost Festival, China Travel, June 20 2023.

Sturgeon, Wikipedia Article.

Lughnasadh, Wikipedia Article.

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2004.

Image Credit: "Leaping Gulf Sturgeon," by Dawn Witherington

(If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

[todaysdocument]

Nelson Medicinebird

Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian AffairsSeries: Home Industrial Surveys

[B&W photo of log dwelling]

[typed] Nelson Medicinebird

Age - Degree - Status - Family

49 - Full - Ward - 4

Unallotted

Home location is 2 3/4 miles south of the Ashland Farm

Station.

Date of Survey----------May 2, 1924.

Crops raised last year: wheat 8 bu; oats 12 bu; corn 4 bu;

potatoes 1 bu; alfalfa 20 acres.

Nelson Medicinebird has only a twenty acre field of alfalfa

and about four or five other acres that can be cultivated

and has no change of enlarging his farm as is hd sur-

on all sides by other farms and cannot obtain any other

piece of land near by. He most generally takes care of his

brother- in-law's farm who is employed by the government

as a Linerider.

He lives in a log cabin and has but very few farm implements.

All members of the family are in good health.

[cutetrilobite2]

Records : 1 food :

produce:

I farm my own food. the native villagers farmed wheat until I came over and seized their production. They had two little raised beds where they farmed their wheat. These villagers are experienced farmers, as evidenced by their high yield and disease control. Once I finished my terraced farm, I tried to employ one of the villagers to work on my farm, but the villager kept harvesting a small amount of crops one at a time instead of harvesting them all at once. So I tend to to my farm alone.

They consider wheat to be a food crop, but I only farm them as a money crop so I can sell the wheat to the villagers and acquire emeralds : a green gemstone that the villagers use as currency. It makes a nice noise when shaken in a leather bag. The villagers use a bin as a composter. Once the bin gets filled, they collect the soil like substance and mix it into the soil of their plants. It makes them grow faster. They also use bees and wasp nests to pollinate their crops, and it also makes the crop grow faster. I, alongside wheat, grow pumpkin (food crop), beetroot (food and money crop), potato (food and money crop), and watermelons (food crop)

animals:

The villagers in the village I reside in don't practice animal husbandry except for bee and wasp keeping. I however, do. I have cows, sheep of different colors (For making clothes and banners etc.) one horse for traveling, a dozen llamas and a cat for controlling the population of rats. I mainly use beef as my food of choice since it restores hunger more efficiently than other food such as baked potatoes. Wool is a much need resource and for that I herd a group of 16 sheep total llamas are great transport animals when you tame them. They have hierarchies, and can be easily tricked into traps. I use them for transporting building materials. A horse is a necessity, so I have one horse that I use for traveling and I keep a local cat as a pest control since rats like to munch on grains and crop. The cows, sheep, llamas, and the horse are happy with eating wheat. The cat fills its belly by eating the birds and rats, but when she does a particularly good job, I give her a piece of salmon from the local swamp. May the good God be with me, amen. - S.martin