What the US Plans To Do About the Wheat Supply Shortage and How You Can Prepare

A year ago, we wrote on the importance of being mindful of your food stores. Recently, countries are starting to ban wheat exports out of their country which spells out increased shortages and higher prices at the grocery stores.

After India banned the exportation of wheat from the country, the United States and the European Union began looking at how to improve food supply chains with export restrictions from India and other nations accentuating global problems, the EU’s trade chief told CNBC. But this won’t be an easy or a fast fix and often political interference has the uncanny effect of making things even worse.

Ukraine has been unable to export grains, fertilizers, and vegetable oil, while the conflict with Russia is also destroying crop fields and preventing a normal planting season. Indonesia’s ban on palm oil exports will likely make a bad situation worse as well.

The best way to beat a food shortage is to plan ahead

If you haven’t guessed yet, the “normal way of life” is in a tailspin. It’s fair to say that food is going to be an asset very soon, and therefore, you should begin considering it an “investment.”

If you haven’t started to consider stockpiling some food, now may be a good time to do so. Plan for increases in costs of both wheat and wheat-based products like flour, bread, and cereal. Buy now at today’s dollar and save from your investment in the long run. Invest in hard assets (those you can have on hand and physically touch) like hard red wheat and store them for the long term.

Why Wheat Is The Cornerstone of Prepper’s Food Storage

In an article on the versatility of wheat, we wrote, “Although wheat is the cornerstone of a prepper’s food storage, many don’t understand why they should have a bunch on hand, or even how to use it if the SHTF. It certainly feels like every single preparedness author out there recommends the storage of hundreds of pounds of wheat, but why? And what can you use it for?

The first reason and maybe the most obvious one as to why many suggest storing wheat is because it has a long shelf life. Hard grains, (which include more than just wheat) such as buckwheat, corn, flax, mullet, Kamut, spelt, and triticale, if stored properly, have an average shelf life of 10 to 12 years, however, this can be increased to 30 years or longer. Not to mention wheat is fairly inexpensive and storage isn’t all that difficult.”

Grow and Harvest Your Own

Another way to protect yourself from wheat shortages is to learn how to grow it and harvest it yourself.

Hard red spring wheat is planted in early spring and yields a bigger harvest than the hard winter spring wheat.  HRS wheat also packs in more protein! And you don’t even have to cook this wheat once you’ve harvested it! Just toss some right on your salad and savor the full robust flavor.  Wheat also contains the highest fiber content of all the grains and it is a good source of minerals, such as zinc, iron, magnesium, and manganese.

Another added benefit of growing wheat is that you are no longer being forced to support the commercial processing of it.  If you’re into gardening and deep into self-sufficiency and prepping, sooner or later you’ll want to try growing wheat because it allows you to get away from the commercial process.  That process, unfortunately, grows a perfectly good grain, then scrapes off the bran, peels out the germ, bleaches the flour, and sells all those things back to you separately.

HRS wheat should be planted as soon as the ground becomes workable in the spring. Consider plowing in the fall and towing and silling in the spring. This makes it a great crop for cooler climates, such as those who live in agriculture zones 3 or 4. Seeds that can be planted before the first frost often do quite well in these zones. (I can personally attest to this. I live in ag zone 4b.)

Learn How To Use It

There are also many ways you can prepare wheat berries and make bread without having to go to the grocery store for flour!

Most notably, wheat berries are considered a true whole grain and without wheat berries, there would be no flour! What we like most about this food staple is its nutrition profile and the long storage life. Having a supply of wheat berries in the pantry is great for enriching the diet with essential calories and vitamins rich and for an extended emergency. They will help you withstand the increased physical demands of a long term disaster, as well as keep you healthy. Here is a yummy recipe for toasted wheat berries you can try.

Prepare now by learning to grow your own wheat or stockpile what you can for the upcoming food shortages. Learn to make your own bread and how to use the things you have chosen to store.

Knowing there’s going to be a supply problem with food staples is only the first step. Taking action to minimize the effects it’ll have on you and your family is the next step!