Just what we need, cornfield crucifixions.
Seriously though, this is very troubling. The Saudis are explicitly conserving their own resources at home, while exploiting land and water supplies here in America.
CNBC reports:
Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf countries are scooping up farmland in drought-afflicted regions of the U.S. Southwest, and that has some people in California and Arizona seeing red.
Saudi Arabia grows alfalfa hay in both states for shipment back to its domestic dairy herds. In another real-life example of the world’s interconnected economy, the Saudis increasingly look to produce animal feed overseas in order to save water in their own territory, most of which is desert.
Privately held Fondomonte California on Sunday announced that it bought 1,790 acres of farmland in Blythe, California — an agricultural town along the Colorado River — for nearly $32 million. Two years ago, Fondomont’s parent company, Saudi food giant Almarai, purchased another 10,000 acres of farmland about 50 miles away in Vicksburg, Arizona, for around $48 million.
But not everyone likes the trend. The alfalfa exports are tantamount to “exporting water,” because in Saudi Arabia, “they have decided that it’s better to bring feed in rather than to empty their water reserves,” said Keith Murfield, CEO of United Dairymen of Arizona, a Tempe-based dairy cooperative whose members also buy alfalfa. “This will continue unless there’s regulations put on it.”
Recall, this is precisely the type of investment Michael Burry of “Big Short” fame recently said he was involved in.
In a statement announcing the California farmland purchase, the Saudi company said the deal “forms part of Almarai’s continuous efforts to improve and secure its supply of the highest quality alfalfa hay from outside the (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) to support its dairy business. It is also in line with the Saudi government direction toward conserving local resources.”
Sure, conserve local, exploit American. Just brilliant.
Added Irwin, “We’re letting them come over here and use up our resources. It’s very frustrating for me, especially when I have residents telling me that their wells are going dry and they have to dig a lot deeper for water. It’s costly for them to drill new wells.”
Local development and groundwater pumping have contributed to the groundwater table falling since 2010 by more than 50 feet in parts of La Paz County, 130 miles west of Phoenix. State documents show there are at least 23 water wells on the lands controlled by Alamarai’s subsidiary, Fondomonte Arizona. Each of the wells is capable of pumping more than 100,000 gallons daily.
“You can use as much water as you’d like, as long as it’s put to a beneficial use, and you’re not required to report your water use,” said Michelle Moreno, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, which has scheduled a public meeting for Jan. 30 in La Paz County to hear concerns from residents.
More competition for land and fodder is likely to make things more expensive for dairy farmers in California and elsewhere.
“It will ultimately drive the price up for the West Coast dairy operations,” said Robert Chesler, vice president of the dairy group at FCStone, a Chicago-based commodity-risk management company. “This is where they are buying that hay. This is where they are buying the farmland for dairy farms as well as and where they are buying the dairy goods, because we are obviously exporting more out of the West Coast.”
Just another example of the Saudis giving it good and hard to American public.
For related articles, see:
From Baghdad to Bahrain…From Beruit to Tehran – Tensions Are Exploding Across the Middle East
German Intelligence Warns – Saudi Arabia to Play “Destabilizing Role” in the Middle East
A Look Inside Saudi Arabia’s Elaborate U.S. Propaganda Machine
Saudi Arabia and ISIS – A Side by Side Comparison
Another New Low – Saudi Arabia Threatens to Sue Twitter Users Who Compare it to ISIS
Saudi Arabia Bombs Second Yemeni Wedding in a Week – At Least 23 Dead
Saudi Arabia Forces the UN to Drop Humanitarian Inquiry Into Yemen Atrocities
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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IMPEACH OBAMA-THE-TRAITOR NOW. He has thrown Americans out of jobs that he gave to foreigners. Now he’s throwing out our farmers to give our land to foreigners. Who gets the money the sow-dis are paying for this? The kickbacks? The bribes? His despicable “fundamental change” from a Republic to a global dictatorship warrants the punishment for treason for every last pig involved in this scheme.
Obama’s criminal regime increasingly steals land from our farmers and ranchers, and now this??? The federal government is stealing land that belongs to the States. So, the State legislators must be in on this too. Civil disobedience, anyone?
Your projections are not rooted in fact or evidence. Politicizing this issue towards Obama rather than seeking to correct the structural/policy issues that have allowed this global exploitative situation to exist…appears divisive and unproductive.
Thank you for posting this article Michael. It illuminates structural deficiencies with our current economic and political systems that allow for inefficient and exploitative allocation of resources without accountability to the commons. This highlights a major issue with food sustainability. Canada’s past Harper administration sold out our publicly held Canadian Wheat Board to the Saudi’s at a deep discount (over an offer from Canadian farmers). This allowed them further scheduling/control over rail transportation that Canadian farmers have lost control over to market/export their wheat and other crops. Farm land and water rights’ grabs are being made by foreign owners who do not pay taxes or account for the externalities to the local ecosystems/societies they exploit.
Amen and Amen! Why are they letting Foreign countries buy our Land? Why are our Farmers selling their Land to a Foreign country? Don’t they know or care what they are doing is hurting America and Americans? Selling our country bit by bit for profit to people that hate us and want to destroy us! Despicable!
If these people have so much money that they can buy up farm land, let them do it at home and not here. Our farm lands are for us and not someone else’s country. Just more of obama”s BS for letting these people in. They aren’t here for us but like Obama, they are for themselves. Now if we put the shipping and export so high that they would have to use it here. This is totally against the USA,. We here are in need of hay for the cattle and horses in the snow areas.
Congress doesn’t have the guts Marlene. They are afraid of race riots if they were to file charges on him. There is corruption throughout Congress that is why we need term limits for them also.
Entertaining and enlightening how the ignorant and gullible masses in this blog react to such biased article. It’s all about supply and demand, just a basic principle in economics, so whining won’t do any good to you nor will it fix the problem. End of story.
Now you gullible audiences, buy Krieger’s worthless investment products!
Sorry, what “worthless investment products” are you referring to?
I agree with you and you have made some good points. I also believe the PC crap needs to go away. Our country is going down the tube because our so called leaders give things away that are not theirs to do so.
How/why would we allow foreign ownership of US farmland? Shouldn’t american farmers be growing & selling these crops themselves? Isn’t this a matter economic & national security?
Another question – where will they get the water to grow alfalfa in the desert? AZ water rights/distribution are HIGHLY contested… hard to believe that a foreign entity could ‘jump the line’ and secure ANY water in AZ, much less water for crops that provide zero economic benefit to AZ/US.
Great comment
They can do it because the traitor in the whitehouse “paves the way” for them (his masters).
Kansas does not allow foreign ownership of grain producing land. Foreign ownership is described as any corporation of board members that are not Kansas residents.
this kind of B.S. is why this country needs a smart , “patriotic”, un-owned OUTSIDER to be elected next November. And NO I am not endorsing Trump (or anyone else in particular), but , as of now, Trump does seem to be the best choice to put an end to shit like this. It appears SA has huge pull within the current US political “machine”, and I can’t imagine anyone who is currently a member of the “machine” (including Cruz, Rubio) standing up to SA.
I think Landdesigner is on the right track. Politicizing the issue obscures the real problem. As for me, I would say that, at the root level, the Saudis are doing this because they have too many people for their arid ecosystem to support. Unfortunately for the world, at this point nearly all countries have overstepped their ecological boundaries, and we are going to pay for this shortsightedness dearly in the near future.
Did or do you expect anything different from Obama?
this is enough hitlermuslimobama and demon-crats are to be arrested now aiding and abetting our enemy
This is what 3rd world countries do.
Are you all in denial or something?
Why doesn’t our government help out our AMERICAN land owners who have fallen on bad times? they have their nose’s in everything else. Stop allowing non- American citizens to buy property in the USA as a lot of other Countries do even Mexico.
You can’t just blame non-Americans for buying land. Most of the blame is on the American people for SELLING THERE LAND. Put the blame where it belongs
What Leo is not aware of is that the farmers themselves are not responsible for the selling of the farmland. In most cases the Obama government has forced millions of U.S. Farmers into bankruptcy with increasing regulation and taxation. It then goes to a “receiver”, a court controlled and appointed by Obama, from where it is sold to the highest bidder and Obama, being a certified Muslim, directs it to be sold and pockets the change! Think this is “far-fetched”, think again! Been investigating these kinds of crimes for half a century. Obama can’t sell out America fast enough!
Can you provide proof that Obama is a Muslim?
This is Obama looking after his fellow Muslims , if you dare say any thing he will call you racist and un American , political correctness is legislated insanity …
so stop selling land to foreigners let our farmers grow it and sell it to them
First, how is this any different from the US buying oil on the open market and the US not drilling our own?? And second, the land was purchased, not confiscated If you don’t want the Saudi’s to buy it, then get an American group to outbid them. There’s much more farmland lost to developers for Urban growth, and that is all internal.
I agree with you 100%. It’s time to take back our great country our forefathers died for.
The Bundy drama needs a new look.
I can’t wait til Jan 20, 2017, when we will be finally rid of Obummer.
Do you honestly believe we will be rid of him then ? I believe we will see a major move to finish off our great country in the next 12 months, hope I’m wrong !
President carter open the door or one of our presidents did think about how much has been sold to different countries dubai has been buying in all our cities China owns sears tower our government has been selling America for years try to buy in those countries you can not it is very wrong what is happening in America but remember our government has a lot to do with it or our socialist government
Not sure what you are talking about with regard to the Sears tower. Blackstone bought it: http://fortune.com/2015/03/16/sears-tower-chicago/
Honestly I understand why people hate Obama but calling him a Hitler Muslim Tyrant really won’t get anything done in this particular issue now will it? Perhaps focusing on some legislative policy to fix the problem would get things done quicker.
No other country should be able to buy Land or Building and or Businesses here in the USA Period first they are probably getting places that are sieze from people that are not able to pay for it because of problems and they take the land from them and then other countries are buying it and I know that the government give money of tax payers to forgienors to buy businesses and are start them but will not give money to We the people Period
Will someone read the Constitution real good, If you do, you may well find in it that no foreign country or nation is allowed to buy property in America…..
and they will bring in their own people to do the work…. a lose/lose for America all around.
it is already in the Constitution that it is against the law to sell to a foreign country, just more bypass of the Constitution that no one is doing anything about.
The English speaking countries, are just about the only countries that allow foreign people to own land. What do they know,that we don’t know.the ones that do, place a lots of restrictions on owning land, that are expensive and difficult to follow, and also restrict owning land within a certain distant of sea shores and other areas.
Several years ago the Australians complained about the Americans buying up their land. The answer to it was “They can not take it home with them.” “It is still here and they still pay taxes on it.”
Better the House of Saud than Soros?
We need immediate legislation to prohibit any industrial, agricultural, forest or other facilities/lands being purchased by out-of-country countries or peoples, including mineral, water and oil assets. Those assets already purchased, should have severe exporting restrictions on any American products be shipped to foreign countries, either directly or indirectly—at least with very high export-taxes. Come on people, wake up, else much of our assets are going to be in the hands of the oil-rich countries. Likewise, No country or foreign national should have operating control of any business located in the U.S. and we in turn should not have such full-control of our overseas enterprises—-of course, our government foreign embassies and military bases would be excepted. Conversely, Canada could capture and sell zillions of “acre feet” of their fresh water that is now being drained into the Northern oceans—that water could make our Northern states the grain “bread-basket” of the world.
Stop selling America to other countries! This is our land! Keep it that way!
and our POLITICIANS!
I have read with great interest and in some instances the posts above. I have been a. Researcher for many years and have studied the very issues discussed above. Firstly; Those selling the aforementioned farm land are NOT farmers, but instead large agri-corporations. Secondly; Since Obama took over the highest office in the greatest coup in the history of the world, the cost of being in the business of farming has increased 600%! The principal reasons being: “Designer Taxes” and regulations put forward by regulatory actions and Executive Orders, thus not allowing or requiring the action or even the knowledge of Congress. While campaigning, Obama stated that his would be “The most transparent government in history”. Nothing could be further from the truth! that’s why the price of food has risen 34% a year since 2009. The Saudies seek to raise food here because they have no water resources! They barely have enough to drink. The Saudiess are so short of water they have even considered transporting icebergs from Antartica, but without success.
This is exactly why the militias are standing up to the BLM (Feds) in Burns Oregon (Harney County) right now over land theft from the farmers and they are fed up with it! Google it “The Hammond ranch in Harney County”.
It is WAY Past time America to wake up and smell the roses !! I am not sure it’s Not to late, we “may” have gone past the point of No return !! Only God knows the answer to what the further holds !! This I do know ,
You can’t go around saying God bless America and then kick him out of every facet of our lives and then exspect him to bless our country ??? It don’t work that way folks !! Unless & until we wake up and change our attitude toward our creator ,
“DONT” exspect any thing to improve .
Just watch thing continue to get Worse !!
Continuing from my post above. The vast majority of people in our country still believe that most of the farming done in this country is done by local family farmers. Nothing could be further from the truth. By far, the vast majority of farming in the United States is produced by huge agri-business who take advantage of corrupt “so called” Farm Programs passed by Democrats! Jimmy carter bankrupted 54% of this nations family farmers in 1979, along with millions of other American hardworking citizens. Why? Because of egregious stupidity and “old fashioned” greed and corruption. In short the cost of Carters Presidency was the “selling out” of America! Carter is also the reason we are now in Afghanistan! Most Americans are not aware of it but Carter is who organized Al Queda with your taxpayer dollars! That”s why we’re there now! I know…I was there! At the direction of the individual that most Americans see as a very benign individual, but who in reality was one of the most devious traitor in the history of our nation! More to follow.
You are very right what you saybut if go back Nixon was the first to open the door. And many others big corporate company’s this make believe president has a great big hand in this
we need to do just like Mexico and other countries do. if you are not a citizen of that country you can not buy or own land in that country.
I am so disgusted at our useless Government body, and the money hungry demons that are selling out land to the Saudi’s to keep their country alive , while eating away at precious land to make a buck. WTF is wrong with you people. Because of your greed for the dollar, you are helping to turn America into worse than a 3rd world country. And this is for every Left wing stupid mindless morons. Who have created this bull shit. You would knowingly sell land to the Saudi’s to kept their American hateful country surviving? Really, is that not rub you the wrong way? I swear that the erosion of this country is because of the moronic Democrats who for some reason just don’t get it. If I ever meet a Liberal out in public, you are probably lose some teeth. Do you get it, you piece’s of useless SHIT?????
Only a completely liberal dolt cannot see Obama is a Muslim! Look no further than his canceling The National Day of Prayer 3 years ago and instead hosted an international Muslim in the Whitehouse! A person would have to be blind, deaf, dumb and stupid to have missed it! In addition, for his first two years in office, Obama could be seen delivering speeches from the “Oval Office” wi th a Muslim Prayer Rug behind him, instead of the American Flag and the Official Flag of the Presidency! How could you or anyone have missed it? Why do you think 4 Americans died in Benghazi? We do not now nor has their ever been a U.S. Mission in Lybia. Benghazi was CIA arms deport, used for transshipment to fuel Obama’s war in Syria, in violation to our Constitution! It really surprises me how many people in thins country do not pay attention! Maybe that’s why this nation is slicing down the shit-Shute at warp 4!
Differences of opinion are welcome on this site, but lies are not. First of all, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that even if Obama did cancel the National Day of Prayer, this wouldn’t prove he’s a Muslim, but it gets worse. The whole meme is nonsense.
The people behind a chain email circulating in New Jersey about President Barack Obama and the National Day of Prayer might want to think about the sin of omission.
That’s omission, as in omitting facts.
The email, received Jan. 30 by PolitiFact New Jersey, claimed in 2010 that Obama canceled a National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House in 2009, but later that year a National Day of Prayer for Muslims was permitted on Capitol Hill, beside the White House.
The email reads, in part:
“This year President Obama canceled the 21st annual National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House under the ruse of ‘not wanting to offend anyone,’” the email reads. “BUT … on September 25, 2009 from 4 AM until 7 PM, a National Day of Prayer FOR THE MUSLIM RELIGION was HELD on Capitol Hill, Beside the White House.”
Most of the claims in the email don’t have a prayer of being accurate, PolitiFact New Jersey found.
There are several statements to address. Let’s start with the origins of the National Day of Prayer, which is an annual observance for people of all faiths.
President Harry Truman established the day as a national event in 1952. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a resolution designating the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer. Every president since – including Obama – has issued a proclamation to recognize the day.
Obama, however, has not held the National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House that President George W. Bush had for eight years. Presidents George H.W. Bush held one, in 1989, and Reagan also held one, in 1982. President Bill Clinton had none. So, there have not been 21 annual National Day of Prayer ceremonies, as the email claims.
In fact-checking this email, we found at least 30 published reports in a basic Google search debunking various claims in it. While those reports confirm that Obama decided against the public White House ceremony, none state exactly why. In a May 7, 2009 CNN video, a representative with the Christian Broadcast Network speculated the cancelation might stem from publicity about controversial comments once made by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s longtime pastor in Chicago. Other articles imply that a statement in Obama’s inaugural speech about inclusivity of all religions and nonreligions in the United States might have been a factor.
At the time, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said of Obama’s plans on the National Day of Prayer, “Privately, he’ll pray as he does every day.”
The same is expected this year.
“As he has done each of the last three years, President Obama will continue to recognize the National Day of Prayer,” White House spokesman Brandon Lepow said in an email.
Next, let’s review the claim about “a National Day of Prayer FOR THE MUSLIM RELIGION” being held “on Capitol Hill, Beside the White House.”
The Jummah Prayer on Capitol Hill event was a one-time only activity coordinated by the Dar-ul-Islam mosque in Elizabeth to “clear up myths about Muslims,” said Imam Ali Jaaber, who attended the Sept. 25, 2009 event. It was never billed as a National Day Of Prayer.
Hassen Abdellah, board president at Dar-ul-Islam, organized the event in response to positive remarks by Obama in his inaugural speech and during another speech five months later in Egypt about welcoming and acknowledging the presence of Muslims in the United States, Jaaber said.
Also, Capitol Hill is approximately one mile from the White House – not beside it. And, Muslim is not a religion. A person who follows the religion Islam is a Muslim.
Our ruling
A chain email circulating in New Jersey that Obama canceled the 21st annual National Day of Prayer ceremony in 2009 but a National Day of Prayer for Muslims was held later that year on Capitol Hill is full of inaccuracies. While it’s true that Obama did not hold a public ceremony at the White House that President George W. Bush did, it’s untrue that the ceremony would have been the 21st annual event. But wait – there’s more: the email’s author incorrectly located Capitol Hill as “beside” the White House and identified Muslim as a religion.
http://www.politifact.com/new-jersey/statements/2012/feb/09/chain-email/claim-obama-canceled-national-day-prayer-has-been-/
Only trolls go onto websites and distract the conversation away from real issues with lies. This is your first and last warning.
Different opinions are welcome, but you cannot pollute the site with obvious lies.
now switch gears…China has been buying up land in virtually every state, why haven’t we heard about that from the national media…Does anybody remember the Chinese VP that came to Iowa and Obama bowed to him?
We the people, what is that anymore? Why is it that we sale our land our water and are oil to other countries among other things? For the money I’m sure, but when it comes to selling are land and what ever else we have then we have sold everything from out from under us we are in trouble big time, we better watch out and wake up because everything that is in it and on it was and is what we have fought for over the years to keep and the lives that we have lost. You know are country men that have died for us and for are freedoms just to keep it all and to protect it and us would then just been a big waste of time and there lives would also just been loss for nothing. They fought for us think about it for awhile, you know we have what we have because of are forefathers and are fathers because they fought to keep it for us and we are so stupid that we don’t think about what we are doing to our own selves and are child and are country. What will are children have if we don’t stop this stupid behavior and their children to, what will they have, they will have only a mixed up country again owned be many different countries and I can probably guarantee that there would be a lot of fighting again over the country we have already fought for and came together for to be a country of one. It to will be divided again, are country, all over again, do we really want that for them. I know I don’t, but what is there that one person can do except to say what I am right now and hope that more will care and join, I hope that we put a stop to all this selling to other countries and have them only rent and pay the taxes on the land they use and also pay for the water that they use to do their farming. Just anything just stop the selling of our land and country.
we the people is only we the people if we act IN OUR OWN INTERESTS
never vote for an incumbent
vote for the most xenophobic candidate you can find(extreme times call for extreme measures).
Vote for candidates passionate about protecting the ENTIRE Constitution
buy American
do not buy into ANY politically correct agenda
speak to your friends
Hopefully people will begin to wake up
Always remind yourself America First!
Good luck
Africa is closer to them,why not pick on them? Could be they couldn’t count on government support or that it would look the other way. Let them drink their oil and leave our water alone.
I believe you are right-our land is a “safer” bet.