Local Food Policies and the Late Harvest

A Wall Street Journal article explains how unusually rainy weather affects the corn and soybean harvests. Most crops aren’t dry enough for storage yet, but leaving them in the fields puts them at risk for mold and other kinds of damage.

A late harvest that threatens crops is a challenge for the economy, and policies can either mitigate the problem or exacerbate it. For instance, requirements that public schools buy a certain percentage of food locally could force schools to wait weeks for crops to be harvested, or to pay extra for scarce local produce.

Conversely, allowing for open trade between regions protects consumers. People and organizations can buy food from areas that aren’t experiencing adverse weather, so no one has to go hungry because of a bad harvest where they live.