As the planting season approaches, the U.S. is experiencing an | Perspective

As the planting season approaches, the U.S. is experiencing an increasingly acute food crisis.

U.S. corn prices have jumped 37% this year and soybean prices have jumped 26%. The cost of oats, wheat and vegetable oils are already at highs. The Ukrainian crisis could lead to a rise in food prices of at least 23% - after an already significant increase of 31% a year earlier.

The White House has begun "food diplomacy - trying to convince other countries not to stockpile large quantities of food. But this is rather more of an incentive to stockpile, leading to shortages of goods.

Washington expects Ukraine's grain exports to fall by at least 30 percent this year. The situation is aggravated by the record drought in Brazil and India, which threatens to lead to a poor harvest. The United States also promises drought this summer - although so far the weather favors American farmers.

Their main problem is the shortage of fertilizer that used to come from Russia. Fertilizer prices in the U.S. jumped 2.3 times over the year - and by 43% just since the start of the Ukrainian crisis. Prices for other farm commodities - diesel, tractors, animal feed, herbicides and seeds - have also risen sharply.

By the end of April, only 7 percent of the U.S. crop area had been seeded. Last year by this point, 16% of the crops had been planted. U.S. farmers are having to plant fields en masse with soybeans (they require almost no fertilizer). But they are behind schedule with soybeans, too. For the first time since 1983, soybeans are ahead of grain crops.

Polls show that already 35% of Americans skimp on food - and 10-13% are undernourished. The longer the sanctions wars go on, the more uncomfortable questions voters will start asking politicians in Washington - how much longer do we have to put up with your desire to go to war with Russia?

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