Varroa update: 70% of hives in the exclusion zone have been euthanized. No new detections. Almost a textbook response to a biosecurity threat.
As we enter Spring in the southern hemisphere in general and in Tasmania in particular, things are ramping up on the ground. Continue reading →
As I’ve discussed in episodes 294, 289, 282 & 281, things are heading for a crunch in world food supply and costs. This all started with the supply chain disruptions of the pandemic but the war in Ukraine has triggered what could reasonably be seen as the cause of every major recession since WW2: fuel inflation. Because of the ubiquity of oil in every aspect of our lives and hence our dependence upon it, a modest rise in the price of a barrel has dramatic effects. A major spike, the 70s oil crisis, the recession of the 1990s, the disasters of the first decade of the 2000s and the spikes in the last 8 years are all, if not linked, at least correlated to periods of inflation and then recession.
Clearly, harder times are coming. Harder for some than for others, hard times nonetheless. Continue reading →
From a seed all things are possible. The magic that is a seed still amazes and surprises me, every time I plant. Equally, every time I plant seeds I feel a frisson of panic and anxiety. What’s going on down there? Are things “working”? But once the seeds break ground, I feel like a new parent. It really is remarkable that this still happens every time but there you go. I also worry and pace while chook is broody so maybe it’s just the expectation of new life. Continue reading →