It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, October 21, 2021
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Transphobic Taunt Slammed On Twitter
Lee Moran Thu, October 21, 2021, 1:09 AM·1 min read
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) faced backlash on Wednesday for a tweet mocking assistant health secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, the country’s first transgender four-star officer.
Another Trump-worshipping Republican, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, drew similar outrage with her “welcome to woke medicine, America” post about Levine. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) called Boebert “a hateful bigot.”
Greene has made transphobic comments before, even going so far as to post an anti-transgender sign near the office of another representative who has a transgender child.
Critics of Greene’s tweet said they had reported it to Twitter as targeted harassment. The company did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Critics slammed the Donald Trump-adoring, conspiracy theory-endorsing Greene for transphobia with her post, below:
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert Slammed As ‘Hateful Bigot’ For Tweet
About Transgender Official
The conspiracy-endorsing Republican drew fierce criticism for her
"woke medicine" post about Dr. Rachel Levine, the first U.S. transgender
four-star officer.
By Lee Moran
10/20/2021
Critics accused Boebert — who has a history of transphobic comments —
of dog-whistling hate.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) noted that Levine is “an accomplished pediatrician,
a graduate of Harvard and Tulane, a former fellow at one of America’s top
teaching hospitals, a professor who created medical programs at Penn State
to help young people, and PA’s former Physician General.”
Boebert, in contrast, is “just a hateful bigot,” Beyer said.
Others agreed:
Watch Out, an Otter Gang Is Roving the Streets Waiting to Strike Rotem Rusak Tue, October 19, 2021,
Yes, you heard that right. Otters are generally loveable and playful creatures. But it seems like one group of otters is fed up and striking out. And, we guess, given the state of the world, we can’t blame them. Boing Boing first shared news of this Alaskan otter gang which has orchestrated three separate attacks in September alone.
These attacks seem to have extended over a couple of years now. The first reported otter gang attack dates back to 2019. In these cases, the otters attacked dogs. And there have been several incidents since. David Battle, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist, shared more details with Live Science:
There always seem to have been four or five otters involved in all the incidents. Considering the rarity of this behavior in otters, and the fact that our first reported attack was in 2019 and it’s happened several times since then, this is very likely one group that has stayed together for a while or that come together frequently over a period of time.
These otters are also proving hard to catch, given their ability to stay on the move using interconnected waterways. Researchers don’t seem to have ruled out rabies as a cause. But overall, the reason for this aggression is hard to pin down.
Battle further offers this insight:
Most otters never display this strong a reaction to dogs or people. By and large, they are curious animals, but not typically aggressive toward people or dogs. It’s possible there was some sort of incident involving a dog that led them down this path, after which the otters learned to take aggressive action against dogs, but it’s impossible to say.
Although a gang of angry otters certainly paints a picture, we’re rooting for otter, man, and dog to find happy endings. Battle notes he hopes to evaluate the otters when researchers can finally catch up to them. We’re crossing our fingers there’s an easy way to get this otter gang to put down their claws.
Helium: South Africa strikes new 'gold' Helium: South Africa strikes new 'gold'The natural gas from Renergen's wells is currently being used to power buses, but eventually it will be turned into liquefied natural gas that can be used to heat homes or in power stations (AFP/LUCA SOLA)More Linda GIVETASH Wed, October 20, 2021
In a grassy plain in South Africa, once the world's largest gold producer, prospectors have stumbled upon a new treasure: helium.
Popularly known for birthday balloons and squeaky voices, helium plays an underappreciated role in medical scanners, superconductors, and space travel.
It's also rare -- produced by fewer than 10 countries and often treated as a waste product in natural gas wells.
Natural gas is what Stefano Marani and Nick Mitchell had on their minds when they bought gas rights on this 87,000-hectare piece of land in the Free State province in 2012, for just $1.
When they had their gas finds tested, they discovered unusually high amounts of helium mixed in with the gas that mean their dollar investment could be worth billions.
Their company Renergen is almost ready to start producing both natural gas and helium, placing South Africa on an elite map with helium reserves that could be the richest and cleanest in the world.
Those first tests revealed helium concentrations of two to four percent. In the United States, helium is extracted at concentrations as low as 0.3 percent.
"That was when we knew we had something special," Marani said. "It really was right place, right time."
Further exploration has found concentrations as high as 12 percent, Renergen says.
Other major producers are Qatar and Algeria. - 'It's big' -
The global helium market was worth $10.6 billion in 2019, according to the firm Research and Markets. Since few countries produce helium, supplies are frequently disrupted.
Renergen estimates its helium reserve could be as much as 9.74 billion cubic meters -- larger than the known reserves in the entire United States.
That's enough to fill about 1.4 trillion party balloons.
If proven, Marani said those reserves would be worth over $100 billion (86 million euros). More conservative estimates remain substantial at 920 million cubic meters.
Chris Ballentine, chair of geochemistry at the University of Oxford, said helium is usually produced as part of liquified natural gas operations.
Companies often treat it as a bonus, if they bother to separate it out.
What sets South Africa's find apart is how the gas is extracted.
Natural gas is often obtained by fracking, a process that injects water, sand and chemicals into bedrock under high pressure to split it to release any oil and gas trapped inside.
But fracking also contaminates groundwater and causes small earthquakes that can ruin nearby homes and buildings.
"We don't frack," Marani said. "Our rock has already cracked, there's a giant fracture underground. And so when we drill, we're literally drilling just into that giant fracture where the gas is and then the gas escapes naturally with no stimulation at all."
Renergen plans to have 19 wells installed by early next year. Gas currently extracted is being used as compressed natural gas in a pilot project to run buses.
Eventually the plant will process liquified natural gas for domestic use and liquid helium for export around the world.
Keeping helium as a liquid requires cooling it to nearly absolute zero.
Those temperatures -- combined with the fact that helium doesn't burn or interact with other gases -- make it useful for cooling incredibly hot things. Magnets on MRI scanners, for example, or rocket engines.
Demand, and prices, for helium have more than doubled over the last 30 years. As the uses for helium multiply, nations around the world are increasingly concerned about securing a steady supply.
Russia, Tanzania and the United States have all been looking at developing new reserves.
Eventually, helium production at the South African site could rise to five tonnes daily — roughly seven percent of the planet's current helium production, Marani said.
"It's big," he said. "It's quite meaningful by global standards."
str/gs/sn/rl/mbx
Trump Organization, under indictment, faces new probe by New York county -NYT
FILE PHOTO: A view of the putting green of the Trump National Golf Club Westchester where U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was scheduled to deliver remarks in Briarcliff Manor
Wed, October 20, 2021
(Reuters) - Donald Trump's family company, indicted in July after a Manhattan district attorney probe, is under scrutiny by another New York prosecutor for financial dealings at a golf course it owns, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The district attorney in Westchester County, a suburb north of New York City, has subpoenaed records from the Trump Organization property in recent months under a criminal investigation, the report said.
Also subpoenaed were records from Ossining, the town that sets property taxes on the opulent Trump National Golf Club Westchester, according to the New York Times.
Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah seems to be examining whether the company misrepresented the value of the private club to reduce its taxes, but it was unclear if Trump's own conduct was under scrutiny, the report said.
A spokesperson for Rocah's office declined to comment, as did Kerry Lawrence, a lawyer for Trump's golf club.
Trump's business has faced mounting accusations of financial misconduct since he took office, with the latest investigations threatening to undermine the Trump Organization's business relationships and complicate his political future as the Republican mulls a 2024 White House run.
The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty to tax fraud after Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance indicted the company in July, following a three-year investigation.
New York Attorney General Letitia James in May joined Vance's probe, which Trump has referred to as a politically motivated "witch hunt." Vance, James, and Rocah are all Democrats.
(Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Richard Chang)
Report: Trump golf club under new criminal probe over taxes
Trump Investigation-Golf Course
FILE - In this June 7, 2016, file photo, a photographer is reflected in a golf cart at the the Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. Former President Donald Trump's company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there, according to The New York Times. The district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from both the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester and the town that handles its taxes, said the Times, citing “people with knowledge of the matter.”
( Photo/Mary Altaffer, File
Wed, October 20, 202
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there, according to The New York Times.
The district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from both the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester and the town of Ossining that handles the club's taxes, said the Times, citing “people with knowledge of the matter.” The newspaper didn’t say why those people had requested anonymity.
The probe led by District Attorney Mimi E. Rocah, a Democrat, appears to focus in part on whether the former president’s company submitted misleading valuations on the golf course.
In a statement, the Trump Organization suggested the probe was politically motivated, noting that it had hammered out a compromise with the town over its long-running efforts to cut taxes in June, a deal signed off by a county judge.
“The suggestion that anything was inappropriate is completely false and incredibly irresponsible," the Trump statement said. "The witch hunt continues.”
The district attorney's office has not accused anyone at the company of wrongdoing and it was not immediately clear if the probe will ultimately lead to any charges. A spokesperson for the office, Jess Vecchiarelli, wouldn't confirm the probe to The Associated Press, stating only, “We have no comment.”
The New York state attorney general's office, which joined in the Manhattan district attorney probe, has also launched its own investigation into Trump's finances. That civil investigation is looking in part into whether the Trump Organization may have misled tax officials in valuations of another of the company's Westchester County properties, its Seven Springs estate featuring a Georgian-style mansion set among 213-acres of bucolic countryside.
The Trump Organization has been fighting the town of Ossining for lower tax assessments for its Westchester golf course for years. The company once valued the golf club for tax purposes at about $1.4 million, later increasing its estimate to $6.5 million, while the town for years valued it at more than $15 million.
In June, a New York judge ruled on a compromise that would cut the assessment to $9.5 million for 2021. The compromise also cut assessments going back several years by about 30%, triggering refunds to the company of about $875,000 for overcharges on its back taxes.
A billionaire who supported Trump in 2020 says he talks to Joe Manchin every week and urges him to 'stay tough'
Tom Porter
Nelson Peltz. David A. Grogan/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz told CNBC that he phones Sen. Joe Manchin weekly.
Peltz says he offers Manchin encouragement as the senator seeks to whittle down Biden's climate and social bill.
Progressives say Manchin is in the pocket of big money donors, a claim he denies.
Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz told CNBC that he speaks to Sen. Joe Manchin weekly and offers him encouragement as the Democratic centrist seeks to whittle down President Joe Biden's sweeping social care and climate change reconciliation bill.
Peltz, in an interview Wednesday on CNBC's Halftime Report, praised the West Virginia senator for "keeping our elected officials somewhere in the middle."
"Joe is the most important guy in DC. Maybe the most important guy in America today," said Peltz, who added that he and Manchin have been friends for 10 years. "I call him every week and say, 'Joe, you're doing great. Stay tough. Stay tough, buddy.' He's phenomenal," said Peltz.
Biden had originally sought a $3.5 trillion bill, which would be passed using a mechanism called budget reconciliation requiring the support of all 50 Democratic senators.
Peltz, the founder of Trian Partners, was formerly a supporter of Donald Trump, hosting a fundraiser for the former president at his home in Palm Beach, Florida, in February 2020, where according to CNN tickets cost half a million dollars per couple.
However he withdrew his support for Trump after the January 6 riot.
Billionaire Trump Donor Says He Has Joe Manchin’s Ear: ‘I Call Him Every Week’ Peter Wade
ROLLING STONE Thu, October 21, 202 Joe Manchin - Credit: AP
Joe Manchin is one of the two Democratic senators standing in the way of a historic bill that would expand the social safety net and address the climate crisis. Billionaire Trump donor Nelson Peltz says he’s been calling to encourage him every week.
Peltz, founder and CEO of Trian Partners, said Wednesday on CNBC that he calls the West Virginia senator weekly to cheer on the his efforts to slash programs in the proposed legislation. Manchin has said that wants the bill to include a maximum of $1.5 trillion in new spending, which is $2 trillion less than originally proposed. His obstinance has drawn the ire of fellow Democrats.
“I think it’s dead-on fiscally irresponsible for Senator Manchin to refuse to raise revenue,” Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) said last month. “And at the same time out of the other side of his mouth — maybe the side of his mouth that he uses to talk to his corporate donors — complain that we can’t pay for the things that American families desperately need.”
One such prominent donor is Peltz, who has given to Manchin and hosted fundraisers for Trump that cost as much as $580,000 per couple to attend.
“Joe is the most important guy in D.C. Maybe the most important guy in America today,” said Peltz, who has claimed the Jan. 6 insurrection made him regret supporting Trump. “I call him every week and say, ‘Joe, you’re doing great. Stay tough. Stay tough, buddy.’ He’s phenomenal.”
Peltz said he is happy that Manchin, with whom he’s been friends for more than a decade, is “keeping our elected officials somewhere in the middle,” adding, “anywhere from center-right to center-left works for me.” He complained that other lawmakers are “pushing us to the extremes … where it’s uncomfortable.”
“This is still capitalism, this is not socialism,” Peltz said. “This is still a meritocracy, and we better keep it that way.”
Manchin has taken issue with many of the provisions in the social spending bill, including extending the current child tax credit, insisting on means-testing and work requirements so that only those working and making less than $60,000 a year would qualify. According to an analysis by the Niskanen Center, adding only the income restriction could mean that 37.4 million children would lose the federal aid they’re currently receiving. In Manchin’s home state of West Virginia, it would deny benefits to 189,000 children, cutting the number of recipients by 58 percent. That number doesn’t even account for how many would lose government assistance if the bill included a work requirement. Democrats and the Biden administration have argued that giving families an ongoing child tax credit would help pay for child care, basic needs and allow families to be more financially stable.
Manchin has also stood against parts of the bill that would try to address the climate crisis by investing in green energy. It just so happens that Manchin has a significant personal stake in the coal industry. As The Guardian reported in July, Manchin owns as much as $5 million in stock in Enersystems, a private coal brokerage he founded in 1988 that his son now runs. According to financial disclosures, Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has earned a total of $5,211,154 in dividends from Enersystems, an average of more than half a million dollars per year.
But because Democrats need Manchin’s support to pass the bill through reconciliation, they have reportedly been dropping certain provisions of the legislation, including free community college and, to please Manchin, a clean electricity program that would replace coal- and gas-fired power plants.
We can make the steel of tomorrow without the fossil fuels of yesteryear
The modern world has grown around steel bones — everything from tools and home appliances to skyscrapers and airplanes use the versatile material in their construction. But the process of making steel is a significant contributor to global warming and climate change. In 2018, reportedly every ton of steel produced generated 1.85 tons of carbon dioxide, accounting for about 7 percent of global CO2 emissions that year. This poses not just environmental challenges for our ever increasing world, it could also impact steel producers’ bottom line, which is why the industry is developing a “fossil-free” means of making the alloy, one that relies on renewable-sourced hydrogen rather than carbon coke.
Steel is an alloy composed of iron, which in its pure form is relatively soft, with a small amount of introduced carbon, usually about 2 percent of its total weight. This improves the material’s strength and reduces its propensity for fracturing. The process starts by combining iron ore, before coking coal and limestone (which remove impurities) in a blast furnace to create pig iron.
That molten pig iron is then poured into a furnace and high pressure air is introduced via a water-cooled lance. The oxygen chemically reacts with the molten iron to purge impurities — as well as produce significant amounts of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The oxygen also forces impurities like silicates and phosphates present in the pig iron to react with limestone flux, trapping them as waste slag. Today, per the World Steel Association, some 1,864 million metric tons of crude steel are produced annually with China producing a vast majority of it.
While the WSA points out that “in the last 50 years, the steel industry has reduced its energy consumption per tonne of steel produced by 60 percent” and notes that steel is infinitely reusable, and that “new” steel typically contain 30percent recycled steel on average the traditional methods of iron and steel production are becoming untenable — at least if we want to mitigate its impacts on climate change. What’s more, the International Energy Agency estimates that global steel production will grow by a third by 2050, which will only compound the industry’s environmental impacts. That’s where fossil-free steel comes in.
Take HYBRIT (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology), for example. This process has been developed as a joint venture between three Swedish companies: SSAB, which makes steel, energy company Vattenfall, and LKAB, which mines iron ore. Rather than using coking coal and a blast furnace to convert raw iron ore into metallic iron, the HYBRIT method uses hydrogen generated from renewable energy sources and a technique known as direct reduction, which lowers the amount of oxygen contained within the ore without heating it above the metal’s melting point, to create sponge iron. Blast Furnaces vs HYBRIT
Like pig iron, sponge iron is an intermediary material in the steelmaking process (it’ll get shipped off to SSAB to be turned into steel slabs), but in HYBRIT’s case, its production results in the creation of water vapor rather than carbon dioxide.
“The first fossil-free steel in the world is not only a breakthrough for SSAB, it represents proof that it’s possible to make the transition and significantly reduce the global carbon footprint of the steel industry,” Martin Lindqvist, CEO of SSAB, told reporters in August. “We hope that this will inspire others to also want to speed up the green transition.”
The HYBRIT coalition opened a pilot direct reduction plant in Luleå, Sweden last year and has announced plans to increase production to an industrial scale by 2026. The team claims that eliminating fossil fuels from the steelmaking industry in Sweden could drop the country’s total CO2 emissions by at least 10 percent. However, they are not the only group looking into fossil-free steel production. The H2 Green Steel company has announced its intent to open a large-scale plant in northern Sweden by 2024 and expects to produce 5 million tonnes of the material annually by 2030.
In June, Volvo announced that it would be partnering with SSAB to develop fossil-free steel for use in its products — both passenger cars and industrial machines. Last week, Volvo unveiled the first vehicle to be made with fossil-free steel, an 8-plus ton load carrier designed to operate within mines. Not only is the load carrier powered by a fully electric drivetrain, it can autonomously navigate across a worksite as well. Granted only about 3 of the vehicle’s 8 tons were made from fossil-free steel (the drivetrain’s steel components, for example, were made through traditional smelting means), this marks an important first step towards a carbon-neutral transportation future.
“When we have been talking about ‘fossil free’ in the transport sector, we have been focusing a lot on emissions from the vehicles in use. But it's clear to us and to everyone else that we also need to address the carbon footprint from the production of our vehicles,” Volvo Group’s Chief Technology Officer Lars Stenqvist told Forbes. “That's why it's so important now to team up with everyone in the value chain and collaborate in order to drive out all the fossil fuel also used in the production of components, parts and also running our production facilities.”
Volvo expects the autonomous load carriers to enter real-world operation by next year, though the company concedes that its ability to ramp up production of fossil-free vehicles will depend largely on SSAB’s ability to deliver sufficient quantities of the material.
Exxon board debates dropping several major oil and gas projects - WSJ
FILE PHOTO: Logo of the Exxon Mobil Corp is seen at the Rio Oil and Gas Expo and Conference in Rio de Janeiro
Wed, October 20, 2021,
(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp board is debating whether to continue with several major oil and gas projects amid a global push from investors for fossil fuel companies to be more cost-conscious and green-energy friendly, WSJ reported on Wednesday.
Activist investor Engine No. 1 in May shocked the oil-and-gas industry when three of its four nominees were elected to the board by Exxon shareholders, who were frustrated by weak returns and the company's flagging attention to climate concerns.
The appointment of activist Jeff Ubben in March put a third of the 12-member board in new hands.
The board members expressed concerns about some projects, including a $30 billion liquefied natural gas development in Mozambique and another multibillion-dollar gas project in Vietnam, the WSJ report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Exxon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Mozambique and Vietnam projects have been stalled for long periods over local fights as well as sour gas and high costs. No final investment decisions have been taken on these projects.
The talks on projects are taking place as part of a review of Exxon's five-year spending plan, on which the board is set to vote at the end of this month, WSJ reported.
Exxon is also analyzing the expected carbon emissions from each project and how they would affect its ability to meet pledges to reduce emissions, the report said.
The annual projected emissions from the Mozambique and Vietnam projects were among the highest in Exxon's planned pipeline of oil and gas projects, according to a pre-pandemic internal analysis by Exxon, which was reviewed by WSJ.
Exxon is also planning to declare in coming weeks that it will raise its investment in a low-carbon unit it announced in February by billions of dollars, the Journal added.
Exxon had in February said it would invest $3 billion through 2025 in a new division that would commercialize its carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, biofuels and other technologies.
(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
Recent Texas catch ‘spooky’ but also fascinating
Pete Thomas Wed, October 20, 2021,
A fish caught recently off Texas was jokingly described as a “Martian,” in large part because of an invasive parasite that appeared inside its mouth.
“OK, so not really [a Martian], but this is still pretty spooky,” Galveston Island State Park stated on Facebook.
The fish is an Atlantic croaker, whose mouth had been occupied by a tongue-eating louse.
According to the park, the louse enters a fish’s mouth through its gills, severs the tongue and serves as a functioning tongue while feeding on mucous.
“It also happens to be the only known case where a parasite functionally replaces a host’s organ,” the park added.
If these aren’t fun or savory facts, there is good news regarding the tongue-eating louse: “It does not kill the fish or affect humans.”
–Image courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife
Supply chain shortage is driving up prices, Farmers are worried it could grow worse.
Phil McCausland
Joel Everett said he was astounded when a lightly used 2009 John Deere tractor sold at his last auction in Strawberry Point, Iowa, for tens of thousands of dollars more than it had cost fresh off the production line more than a decade ago.
Bought new for $109,000, the tractor sold for $143,000 at auction, he said. It's not an isolated incident, said Everett, who has run Joel’s Tractor and Auction since 1992. A lot of farm equipment, particularly used tractors, is selling for 30 percent to 50 percent more than it was two years ago at his auction house.
"It's been unreal," Everett said. "Our last sale was the biggest dollar sale we ever had, and we're fixing to have another in three to four weeks that's going to blow that one away."
Quality farm equipment is getting hard to find amid the supply chain shortage, many farmers and experts said, and its scarcity is driving up prices and raising questions about whether farmers' harvests and next year's planting season could be affected.
Some farmers are concerned that the shortage could grow worse after 10,000 John Deere workers went on strike last week. The company had reported record profits this year, and United Auto Workers union members walked off the job at 14 manufacturing plants when it refused to raise wages above 6 percent.
"It's got us worried for sure," said Eric Hopkins, the senior vice president of Hundley Farms, which boasts 20,000 acres of mostly vegetables in central Florida. "They're already low on inventory and parts right now. A strike is only going to exacerbate things, make it worse. If it lasts for a while, not only will they not have new tractors, but when you have a breakdown and there's no parts, your tractor is just going to sit there not being able to harvest or plant a crop."
Image: John Deere Workers Strike Over Contract (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
Feelings among farmers about the John Deere strike are mixed. Many said that they supported the workers' desire for a better deal but that they are worried about the effect of a strike that lasts weeks or months.
A long strike could hamper the country's food supply chain, which has suffered shortages since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which further delayed John Deere's ability to deliver products and parts in a timely manner. Farmers also worry that a delay could affect their increasingly thin margins.
It's uncertain how long the strike could last and to what degree John Deere will be further slowed. It said it had a continuity plan in place, bringing in salaried nonunion workers to maintain some level of production.
Crops can be damaged if they are planted or harvested late, and the insurance provided by the Agriculture Department requires that seeds are put in the ground and produce is pulled by a particular date to be fully insured.
That's one issue highlighted by David Misener, who travels the country from May to November as a custom farmer. He brings farm equipment and harvests other people's crops for them. His timelines are tight, but he's had to wait long periods for repairs and parts multiple times this season — an unusual occurrence.
Most recently, while he was working a field for a South Dakota farm this month, a bearing went out on a combine harvester, destroying one of its shafts. The only place the local dealer could find a replacement part was in Canada, and Misener had to sit on his hands for a week until it arrived.
"It is extremely crucial that we harvest on a timely schedule, because it can decide whether you have something to harvest or nothing," Misener said.
The threat to the bottom line is also scary because prices for equipment are growing, as well as for fertilizer, seed, grain and other common farm production resources.
Matt Ackley, the chief marketing officer of Ritchie Bros, which operates a global marketplace for insights, services and transaction solutions for commercial assets, including the sale of heavy equipment, said interest in and prices for farm equipment are growing considerably.
Image: David Misener works on a combine harvester with his sons. (Courtesy David Misener)
The price index for used tractors at Ritchie Bros. is up by 19 percent since last year, Ackley said. The company's website, where it hosts online auctions, has attracted more than 161 million visitors and 1.3 million bidders in 2021 — that’s up by 15 percent and 19 percent respectively from the same time a year ago.
Ackley shared an auction for a tractor that was struck by lightning this year. It was put up for auction by an insurance company as salvage. The tractor still got 393 bids Monday as prospective buyers fought for the opportunity to break it down for spare parts.
“As you get any type of disruption, especially from an [original equipment manufacturer] standpoint — like this strike — to an already stretched supply chain, you get quite a significant backlog,” said Ackley, whose team has been tracking the shortfalls in the supply chain since the pandemic started. “People are fighting vigorously for what’s left.”
The items that farmers can repair themselves are also becoming more sought-after and harder to find.
It’s an ongoing challenge. Farmers say that as agriculture equipment becomes more technical digitally, companies like John Deere have limited farmers' ability to repair their own tractors, combines and other field equipment.
Tim Riley, an organic farmer in western Kansas, said he and other farmers around him have had to get creative because of the parts shortages and the challenges of fixing their own equipment.
Wheat Rises As Corn Gain May Spur Demand From Livestock Farms (Daniel Acker / Bloomberg via Getty Images file)
"Some of the electronic parts have been really hard lately to get for the guidance systems on some of these tractors," Riley said. "It's really hard to do anything with how highly computer-driven they are anymore, so that's a problem."
When the guidance system broke down on Riley's tractor, he had to call his neighbors to ask whether he could dismantle the GPS systems from their rigs to use on his. The local dealer did the same thing and called customers for help when the GPS on a tractor Riley had rented broke this year.
Riley is also worried because John Deere is already so behind in production that he's unable to buy a new tractor for planting season next year.
"Coming into our spring season, we really need a new tractor, but they told us that we won't be able to get it for a year to a year and a half," he said, adding that he has had to buy a used tractor for his farm for the next few years.
Everett, who operates the auction house in Iowa, said he knows multiple farmers who bought new John Deere combines more than eight months ago who still haven’t gotten them and bought different combines just to get through the season.
At times, he's been able to encourage farmers to buy two of the same tractor and cannibalize one for parts.
"I've been telling the guys who want to buy the new stuff at our auctions if you want one that's newer or really nice, this is all you're going to get," he said. "You used to be able to do that, but now our supply chain is just in shambles."
