Chapter 448 The Dilemma of U.S. Cotton
"Lambert's farm went out of business and I lost my job."
There are tracts of dilapidated houses, potholed roads, and a group of idle black people wandering the streets.
In the distant farmland, large areas of unharvested beans are covered with heavy winter snow.
Apparently, farmers gave up on their harvest.
When they first heard the news about the closure of Lambert Farm, several middle-aged and elderly black people sighed heavily.
"Can't even Lambert survive?"
In Greenville, Lambert Farm is definitely a very large farm with a long history. The entire farm covers an area of more than tens of thousands of acres.
From cultivation, transportation, to processing and sales, Lambert Farms employs dozens of farm workers.
Its closure means Greenville will be even more depressed.
Tubewell, who had just lost his job, sighed: "The Lamberts moved away and abandoned the farm assets."
"There's no hope for Greenville."
"The entire Mississippi Delta is hopeless, and Louisiana and Alabama are also in decline. Let's go, you are still young and can still go to big cities to make a living."
Tubwell is 61 years old and has served in the Marine Corps for 17 years, traveling to Texas, South Korea, Germany and other places.
After retiring, he found a job driving farm machinery on the Lambert Farm in his hometown of Greenville.
For more than ten years.
However, even the mighty Lambert Farm eventually fell.
Greenville is a city along the Mississippi River.
It once prospered due to the developed river shipping industry, but now it is a dilapidated city.
Mississippi is also the poorest state in the United States.
But before the Civil War, Mississippi was one of the five richest states in the United States due to its prosperous plantation economy.
However, starting in the 1940s and 1950s, the agricultural mechanization movement put the region in trouble.
In the past, a plantation required two hundred people to work, but now only two or three people were needed. Many farmers lost their jobs overnight.
Young people began to leave and the city began to decline.
But the white farmers in the Delta benefited from agricultural mechanization and became richer. They built tall and beautiful manors on their farms.
In areas where the proportion of black people is as high as 80%, private schools with more than 98% of white students have been built.
Everything seems to be two worlds, and the gap between rich and poor is getting wider and wider.
But even such wealthy farmers went bankrupt in large numbers in just two or three years.
Tubwell was getting old and he didn't want to leave again.
"Damn fire ants! Damn weeds!"
Another black man, Bowen Dean, asked: "The soybeans on the farm are growing well, why don't we use them?"
Tubwell shook his head and said: "I can't sell it. In the past two years, Lambert has been going crazy trying to find a place for the soybeans. Otherwise, the soybeans would not have been covered in snow, because most of the barns in Mississippi were burst. .
Barns are bursting at the seams in several states, including Arkansas and Alabama. ”
Bowen Dean didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Although he was secretly happy that white farmers were unlucky enough to go bankrupt, it also meant that it was harder for black people to find jobs.
Relying on the unemployment benefits he receives from the government every month, he can only make ends meet after paying the rent.
Tubwell and Dean returned to their cabin, lay on the bed and started drinking. Their eyes slowly widened and they entered a semi-drunk state.
Although they are currently in poverty, they were once very high-spirited.
The walls of the Greenville Historical Museum are covered with photos of graduates from the schools here, including photos of Tubwell and Dean.
Lambert, a white farmer, also brought his family to Jackson, the state capital.
It is said to be the capital, but there are only a few high-rise buildings such as the municipal building and casino hotel to prove that this is a 'big city'.
Lambert completed all the liquidation procedures and left the Delta with his family.
Farming?
Not only was the farm devastated by fire ants, but the products grown became unsaleable year after year.
On such a farm, dogs don’t even grow!
…
American Cotton Company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Greenville.
Mississippi is also the core area of the Southern Cotton Region among the four major cotton-producing regions in the United States.
In addition, the delta states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee are also part of the South-Central Cotton Region.
The cotton in this area mainly supplies domestic consumption in the United States, and it is also an important textile industry area in the United States.
However, in today's Central and South Cotton District, not only is the local textile industry crumbling, but even cotton sales have become a big problem.
"There is too much cotton to buy. I'm sorry, Neil, I can't help you."
Cole Wiggins, the cotton company's purchasing manager, hung up the phone one after another in a tired and hurried manner.
Only then did he look at the white man in his fifties or sixties opposite the sofa. He had a big belly, but was tall and had some gray hair on his temples.
This is Belin Wells, general manager of the Cotton Company.
Wiggins said: "The fifth one today."
"I can't help it, there's too much cotton." Wells sighed: "In the past, in addition to cotton, the central and southern cotton areas also had a large amount of soybeans and corn. Now they are all swarming to grow cotton, and their positions have long been exhausted."
"Why do you all come here to grow cotton!"
"Because the Chinese no longer import soybeans and corn, and have even taken away part of the soybean and corn export market, they can only grow cotton."
Wiggins asked: "What about cotton exports?"
"Haha, the Western Cotton people have too much to take care of themselves."
Wells looked out the window. It was desolate. Not even a decent demonstration could be organized in Glenville.
Neither does the capital city of Jackson.
Farmers can only go to Washington, Memphis, Chicago and other big cities to organize a decent team.
"My biggest worry is that this city will just sink, because this small place cannot attract any interest from politicians."
…
Washington, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A meeting is in progress.
"This week, another 231 farms filed for bankruptcy. In the past two years, a total of nearly 4,000 farms have filed for bankruptcy.
If we do not implement emergency agricultural assistance, agriculture in the entire South will be almost finished. ”
Ed York, the new director of the Farm Service Agency, announced the latest data with a frown on his face.
The meeting was attended by the minister and seven deputy ministers of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
But now they all looked ugly.
"Seeing that the south can barely contain red fire ants and produce large amounts of cotton, soybeans and corn, it has lost its competitiveness in the international market."
Ed York mused: "Without more subsidies, not only will a large number of farms fail.
What's worse is that no one is willing to buy these lands now, even the super rich don't recognize the current value of the land.
Large areas of land in the south-central and southwestern parts of the federation will be abandoned as a result, which will be a disaster for the entire country. ”
The conference room became increasingly silent. The problem of fire ant invasion in the southern part of the Commonwealth has been around for a long time, but in recent years it has turned into a nightmare, making all farms frightened.
Tom Vilsack, who is nearly sixty years old, was born in Binzhou and is the current Secretary of Agriculture.
He asked: "What about Monsanto and DowDuPont? They don't have strong technical solutions yet?"
Someone replied: "Monsanto has provided some solutions that can barely control it, but it is difficult to cure it and the cost remains high."
Someone else asked: “Can’t the federal government provide subsidies?”
“The subsidies given are already considerable.”
Vilsack mused: "Although it is an emergency aid, it actually far exceeds expectations. However, it is not competitive enough."
Everyone understands the reason.
Whether it is dealing with fire ants or removing weeds, production costs increase.
Coupled with the sharp decline in unit yields, the production cost per unit of agricultural products can no longer make up for the cost gap with South America through existing subsidies.
Even the international market is still shrinking.
This work is compiled and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~
Because the Chinese no longer import soybeans and corn.
"Damn Chinese!"
"What is needed now is a solution!"
"Monsanto is acquiring Syngenta, and DowDuPont is about to complete the merger. A solution will be available within a year at most!"
"We need to solve the current problem now. Grain silos across the United States are about to burst."
"There is also cotton. People from the Cotton Association are complaining to me that Chinese cotton is exported to the Federation."
Vilsack knocked on the table and said in surprise: "Chinese cotton? Are their cotton also self-sufficient?"
Freya Carey, who is in charge of overseas agricultural services, mused: "It is high-end cotton, and the Federation has imported a lot from China in the past month.
The president and secretary-general of the Federal International Cotton Association have contacted me, hoping to impose restrictions on Chinese cotton.
Otherwise, the western cotton region will also be severely hit.
Because the quality of cotton from Huaxia Xinjiang Province may exceed that of SJVAcala cotton. ”
Vilsack found it hard to believe that SJV Cala cotton was the highest quality cotton in the United States.
It is grown in the San Nuoquin Canyon that runs through central California. Its average length, strength, fineness, uniformity and other indicators are all of excellent quality.
People from the Cotton Association always claim that this is the highest quality cotton in the world.
Now, the Chinese, who have always produced mid- to low-end cotton, have actually produced such high-quality cotton...
"Is this true?"
"The threat from the Chinese is too great. The Federation must restrict them as soon as possible without any further delay."
"Our current policy is too conservative, and measures should be taken immediately to protect the interests of domestic farmers."
Listening to everyone's discussion, Vilsack also felt that the matter was difficult.
He actually pays little attention to the interests of farmers in the south-central, north-central, and even southwestern regions.
Providing subsidies has already done its best. These areas are the base of the Republican Party and are in traditional industries such as oil, agriculture, and mining.
The Democratic Party’s sponsors come from the Internet, finance, technology, and media...
Therefore, no matter how ferocious the fire ants, caltrops and other weeds are, or how well the ruling party does on the surface, it doesn’t really care.
But the significance of the western cotton area is different. It is the production base of federal high-grade cotton.
California has also been the Democratic Party's largest support base.
These two factors combined were enough to attract Vilsack's attention.
What's more, they are Chinese and Chinese industry. Since the financial crisis, this has become the biggest threat to the Federation.
Nowadays, even the import of agricultural products that China is most dependent on has not only got rid of its dependence on foreign countries, but has even gone against Tiangang to export cotton to the Federation.
After the meeting, Vilsack contacted the commander.
However, the situations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria involve too much energy of the White House.
Even if you want to deal with the big countries on the other side of the ocean, you are unable to do so.
In the end, after all kinds of entanglements, CBP could only temporarily detain a ship of cotton imported from China.
…
"It's ridiculous, ridiculous."
In a small courtyard of Tsinghua University, plum blossoms were in full bloom, and loud laughter came from the room.
Guo Yang and Mr. Liu talked about the incident of CBP seizing Xinjiang cotton. This incident has spread and caused quite a stir in the country.
However, CBP did not give a clear explanation for this, only saying that the matter was under investigation.
The country naturally protested.
But it was not as intense as Guo Yang imagined.
For this reason, Guo Yang also went to the Ministry of Agriculture to inquire about the information, and the Ministry of Forestry personally called him.
"It's just a temporary detention. Are you thinking about exporting cotton to the United States?
The U.S. empire’s agriculture is miserable enough, so don’t add fuel to the fire at this time and just focus on developing it domestically...”
Guo Yang naturally agreed.
Fortunately, Jiahe's cotton has not yet been exported, because high-end JCIP cotton has been rounded up by Huafu and Youngor.
But the US imperialists still have to make money, but they don’t necessarily have to rely on exports of agricultural products.
I heard that Monsanto will soon develop a new pesticide to deal with fire ants and caltrops.
Coincidentally, Quanwang Biology has also made initial progress in the Great Plains of central America.
After finishing his work at the company in Jiuquan, Guo Yang came to the capital.
At this time, in this room, besides him and Mr. Liu, Lin Keqing was sitting on Guo Yang's right hand side.
Opposite the two people were two middle-aged people, a man and a woman. Judging from their faces, some traces of Lin Keqing could be seen.
These are Lin Keqing’s parents, Lin Zijin and Liu Haian.
After listening to Guo Yang's story about the causes and consequences of CBP's seizure of domestic cotton, Mr. Liu laughed heartily.
In this laughter, there is both schadenfreude at the decline of U.S. imperial agriculture and gratification at the strides forward in domestic agriculture.
Guo Yang knew that Mr. Liu had served in Long Province for more than ten years and had deep feelings for the local area.
Therefore, he always chooses the good ones to talk about.
He is good at this. Whether it is agriculture, industry or biotechnology, Jiahe has made great achievements in the local area.
Some ecological improvement projects and desert control projects are constantly praised by the elderly.
Seeing Guo Yang chatting so happily with the old man, and his daughter sitting next to him without hesitation, Lin Zijin and Liu Haian could only watch helplessly.
People have heard about it a long time ago, and they have also met and talked about it in the past two days.
He is knowledgeable, rich, and has a career, and he is valued by many people. He is also polite to them, and the two of them also look at each other.
There is really nothing to dissatisfy with.
Liu Lao sighed: "In the end, the most lacking thing in the northwest region is water, especially the Hexi Corridor and the Tarim Basin.
You have some ideas about the Hongqi River, but it’s a pity that I can’t see it anymore, old man. ”
(End of chapter)