Word: wheated
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...countries have expanded their farm lands by 35% and their yields per acre by roughly the same percentage. Their total grain production soared 78%, compared with 64% in the industrial nations. Much of the gain came in the late 1960s through the planting of new, high-yield strains of wheat and rice. The hybrids produced more grain per plant, and their short stalks made them far less vulnerable to wind damage. The development of these seeds was hailed as the Green Revolution. Within a few years, one-third of the wheat area and one-fifth of the rice area...
...taste; it is also a status symbol of a high living standard, even in Communist countries. When the Soviets suffered a crop shortfall two years ago, they did not slaughter cattle to conserve grain (as they had done in 1963), but instead they imported 28 million tons of corn, wheat and soybeans. So long as the industrial nations continue to favor meat over direct grain consumption, says Sylvan Wittwer, Michigan State University agricultural economist, "the sky is the limit for food demand...
...world," explains Willard Cochrane, a University of Minnesota agricultural economist. "It is the country to which all countries come when they are short." This year, despite the recent restrictions on sales abroad, the U.S. will probably export about 41% of its crop-at least 82 million tons of wheat, soybeans, corn and sorghum, valued at about $17 billion. This is enough to provide about one-quarter of the world's 3.9 billion people with at least one meal daily...
...Reserves usually refer to grains - such as wheat, corn, sorghum, rice and soy beans - not needed to meet immediate demands. They can be in storage, in transit or in the lield ready to be harvested. Most food statistics use grain as the common measure because it is the major source of calories for man and provides the basic teed tor animals...
...mean global surface temperature has fallen only about 1° F. But even this small drop has trimmed a week to ten days from the growing season in the middle latitudes that are the earth's breadbasket. Continued cooling could lead to agricultural disasters. The vaunted "miracle" wheat and rice of the Green Revolution were specifically created by plant geneticists to thrive under the optimum growing conditions of recent years. They are particularly vulnerable to vagaries of weather. A decline in moisture can significantly reduce their yields; they can also become susceptible to blights and pests...