Australia’s worst drought, California, Ukraine, and food prices

A reader sent me the following news item:

March 7, 2014

Almost 80 per cent of Queensland is now officially declared to be in drought – the largest area in the state’s history.

Dry southern parts of the state which haven’t seen decent rain this wet season have been added to the long list of drought declared areas, pushing up the total land area in drought from 70 per cent to 79 per cent on Friday.

Agriculture Minister John McVeigh says the drought has now reached record levels. http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=956313&cid=BP_RSS_TOPSTORIES_1_Qldsuffersbiggestdroughtinhistory_070314

The drought in California is continuing:

The storms that walloped California last week slightly eased the state’s epic drought, but the state is still drastically short of moisture, the U.S. Drought Monitor reports.

“Short-term benefits from the storms were mostly offset by still-large, three-year precipitation deficits, low reservoir levels and a sub-par snowpack,” according to this week’s Drought Monitor, a federal website that tracks drought across the country.

The monitor shows that 94.56% of the state of California remains in a drought, the same as last week. http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2014/03/06/california-drought/6120927/

Queensland and California are both significant producers of agricultural foodstuffs.

Over in Ukraine, while weather may not be its biggest immediate problem, Ukraine is also experiencing a drought while the crisis there has also triggered concerns about the availability of some foodstuffs from that nation:

Ukraine’s Wheat, Corn Face Mounting Drought Risk, Martell Says

Winter-wheat crops and corn prospects in Ukraine face mounting risk from an intensifying drought in central and eastern areas amid political tensions with Russia, according to Martell Crop Projections.

Parts of Ukraine, projected to be the world’s third-biggest corn exporter and sixth-largest wheat shipper, got 30 percent to 50 percent of normal rain in the past four months, Martell said. Normal precipitation this spring probably won’t compensate for soil-moisture deficits of as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters).

“This is a serious drought developing,” Gail Martell, the president of the agricultural consulting company in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, said in a telephone interview. “It will take a lot of spring rain to change the pattern.”

Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula roiled grain markets this week.

Crisis in Ukraine Can Cause Wheat and Corn Prices to Rise http://www.kitchendaily.com/read/crisis-ukraine-can-cause-wheat-and-corn-prices-rise

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Wheat, corn surge as market frets over Ukraine http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/markets-grains-idINL3N0M03BC20140303

Notice also the following scriptures from the Book of Amos:

7 “I also withheld rain from you,
When there were still three months to the harvest.
I made it rain on one city,
I withheld rain from another city.
One part was rained upon,
And where it did not rain the part withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,
But they were not satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.

“I blasted you with blight and mildew. (Amos 4:7-9)

As the above shows, the Bible teaches that God uses weather problems to warn people to repent.

The Bible warns of food shortages and pestilences. Nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus taught:

7…And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:7-8)

We seem to be in the time Jesus called “the beginning of sorrows.” Notice a message related to the third horseman of Revelation:

5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6)

Will weather problems cause people to turn to God? Or will they be determined to continue to turn further away from biblical morality?

The sorrows and troubles are just beginning and will get much worse. Hopefully, people will wake up. While God may end the droughts, the Bible shows that He sometimes does use weather as a warning. Various lands, in my view, are being warned.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Does God Use Weather? Are weather calamities totally random? Does God control the weather? What does the Bible say? Are there biblical prophecies for weather blessings and weather curses? Are those affected by hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, droughts, and floods necessarily worse sinners than those not as affect? Does God use weather to try to get people to change or repent? This is a video.
Weather Blessings and Sorrows Are weather problems a warning? What should be done?
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse What do each of the four horseman of the Apocalypse represent? Have they began their ride? Did Jesus discuss the any of this? Might their rides coincide with the “beginning of sorrows? Do they start their ride prior to the Great Tribulation? Did Nostradamus or any other ‘private prophets’ write predictions that may mislead people so that they may not understand the truth of one or more of the four horseman? There is also a related YouTube video titled The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2014, 2015, or 2016? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2013 o 2014? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language video The Great Tribulation Will Not Begin Before 2017.
Physical Preparation Scriptures for Christians. We all know the Bible prophecies famines. Should we do something?
Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video available: Ukraine in Prophecy?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Watch also the YouTube Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.