Fight over grain

Fixed food prices are in jeopardy, newscasters say. A new rival has appeared in the farming business – farmers will no longer produce materials solely for food producers but also for energy producers, and they will serve those who pay more. Czech Agrarian Chamber officials have said Czechs will soon see the trend in their wallets. What are we in for, then?

Time enough, buyers

Food prices are not likely to soar, unlike the amount of chemicals in the soil. If it were not for walnut, plum and cherry-tree orchards, one could lose his sense of space in the vast countryside. The horizon is laced by the peaks of the České středohoří highlands; wind blows in from stubble fields, and the only company here is a circling buzzard and a tractor that splashes something good for next year’s harvest all over the field. This year’s harvest was similar to past crops, but its price beat all expectations. Last year, a tonne of wheat cost about CZK 3,000. This year, it is twice as much.

“It has never been so expensive since we started our business,” says Bohumil Majrich, happily rubbing a fistful of grain with his fingers. A mountain of wheat reaching to shoulder height spans to the end of a huge, 100-metre-long barn supported by ancient beams. “It’s about a thousand tonnes,” adds the tiny man with a…