"One major headline read "Wheat Prices Cause Food supply Fears". Another one said "Russia Announced A Ban On All Grain Exports". Russia has been experiencing severe drought and a host of wild fires across the country causing a shortage of grain.

Those headlines have an effect on farmers in northeastern Ohio as well as those across the nation. It takes a very little threat of a food shortage to cause concern around the world.

Another interesting development is the amount of corn China is buying from the United States. For several years they bought very little. Back in June a boat loaded with corn from the U.S. was seen unloading at a port on China's eastern coast. Four more boatloads were right behind loaded with our corn.

So far this year China has bought 1.2 metric tons of U.S. corn, the worlds largest producer. In all of last year, China imported less than 100,000 metric tons from all foreign countries. This raises a lot of speculation about what is going on in that very secret country.

All this emphasizes the importance of the efficient production of both grains and livestock we have in this country. Just a little drop in world food supplies causes a major concern and food riots can result, such as was experienced in 2008.

We have an interesting paradox in this country. Some groups are saying that corn is bad for us. It is used for corn sugars and to fatten livestock, both they say are not good. Then another group complains because we are using a lot of corn to make ethanol to replace foreign oil. They say this is taking food away from those who need it and causing higher prices. Thankfully farmers keep right on growing the crop.

Wheat prices have shot up more than $2.00 a bushel in the past several weeks and demand is heavy locally and nationally. Ashtabula County is not a major wheat producing county but does produce 239,000 bushels a year, ranking 51st in Ohio. Trumbull County to the south produces about 270,000 bushels and is 50th in the state.

Prices for both corn and soybeans have also improved in recent weeks. Grain farmers are optimistic that they will make a reasonable profit from their fall crops.

Livestock farmers that feed a lot of grain are not so happy if they have to buy much to feed their cattle. Their costs will go up.

With winter wheat planting just around the corner in this area, local growers will have to gamble on whether they want to plant more this fall, given the current strong but changing prices and possible world shortage of wheat. Russia, after the fall of communism and breakup of the huge inefficient collective farms, became a major exporter or wheat. Now that Russia has pulled out of the world market, will prices stay strong through next summer?

Locally corn harvest will start in September and continue on through the fall into winter. So far crops look good and Ashtabula County farmers generally should have a decent harvest, depending on what the weather does to them.

Today's conventional high yield farming, using good research and technology, has helped keep an abundance of food on our tables. Stanford University recently came out with a report that said our conventional, high yield farming uses less land to produce the same amount of food. Low yield farming, being promoted by some groups, would require a lot more land to be plowed up to produce what we need. This would have a real negative impact on our environment, according to their report.

No, we can't go back to farming the way Grandpa did. It wouldn't put dinner on our tables.