On March 18th, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner announced their collaboration in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
Burgum and Turner were on multiple media outlets discussing Trump’s latest attempt to change the narrative from the “slash and burning of the federal government” to something a little more warm and fuzzy, like “build baby build.” Okay, I get that. Mid-terms are coming up and the down-sizing of the Federal Government remains at the top of the Trump To Do List. But the lack of empathy displayed by Trump and Musk is disconcerting to many independent voters. And these unaffiliated voters are the swing votes in the swing states that swing elections. And yeah, housing will be on the ballot in the 2026 mid term and 2028 general election.
Housing is a good narrative for Trump…the builder. His father was a developer of single-family homes on Long Island. Growing up in Queens, many perceive Trump as a ‘silver spoon’ kid. Have you been to Queens? Not many trust fund babies in Queens. And say what you want about Trump’s various foibles, the guy turned a $1.0M loan from his Father, into a $5B fortune…then lost it…then built it back. That is remarkable by any measure…anywhere…any time. Again, you don’t have to like Trump, but you have to admire him as a “come back kid,” and that goes for the White House, too. His reality show The Apprentice pulled 5M viewers, yet he turned that notoriety into a 77M vote victory. Again impressive. And now, Donald, I will task you with your next great “come back.” The return of the American Farmer.
By most recent accounting, the Chinese have acquired more than 432,000 acres of American farmland. Some talking heads in the media believe the land was purchased to spy on U.S. military installations. Could be. That makes some sense. But, if you know anything about China, then you know that 1.3 billion Chinese are completely beholden to other countries for both food and fuel. Arable land is on the decline all over the world…and this is especially true in China. Shipping farmers off to Africa, Australia, South America and the U.S., China is in a terrible spot…and they know it.
The Chinese have built military installations in the South China sea to protect the shipments of both food and fuel. The Chinese have built twenty-something attack submarines and dozens of hypersonic cruise missile systems to threaten U.S. carrier groups… just in case the U.S. tries to blockade the country. A successful blockade in the Winter would leave 1.3 billion Chinese hungry and frozen. Should that happen, think Tiananmen Square times 10,000. At the Tiananmen Democracy protest in 1989, the Communist Party had to bus in remote soldiers, because the urban combat team on watch would not shoot Chinese civilians. In short, a successful U.S. blockade of China, and the Communist Party leaders would flee the country.
With 300 million Chinese now considered “middle class,” these folks want their pork and chicken on the regular. Which means the poultry and swine operations are so large, the Chinese need dedicated field farming in South America, just to grow the soybeans required to fast ship the cash crop back to China for the massive aforementioned poultry and swine ops. You might say, “okay, I like my sweet and sour chicken take-out also.” What’s the big deal? Here’s the big deal.
The land now used to grow Soy Beans for massive Chinese Poultry and Swine ops were once set aside for counter season harvests for American consumers. No matter how creative American field farmers are, the Winter in Southern States and California prevents domestic food production for U.S. markets. So we import fresh food. We import a whole lot…about 19 million tons a year. Which is odd since some of the produce imports come from greenhouses in Mexico and Canada. So, now that we are talking Tariffs and all…why don’t we have a greenhouse industry here in the U.S.? The knee jerk reaction is “greenhouses are energy hogs.” In other words, it cost too much to keep a greenhouse cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The numbers just don’t add up…or do they? Because they add up in Israel.
Surrounded by towel headed Bedouins who hate them, the Israelis knew they had to develop technology to feed themselves. So they did. Top Ph.D. talents from Technion (Israel’s MIT) figured out a way to turn a known environmental liability (Dairy Cow Manure) into four key greenhouse assets. And today, with engineered soil, a concentrated liquid fertilizer, terrestrial fertilizer (CO2) and renewable fuel (Methane), the Israelis have made the Negev Desert bloom for the first time in 5,000 years. And Europe has embraced this movement.
The Spaniards have a robust greenhouse industry, growing in the South and feeding Northern Europeans in the Winter. The Dutch also have a four-season greenhouse industry underway…where they pipe CO2 from North Sea oil refineries directly into their greenhouse complexes. During the long cold Winter, the Dutch use low watt LED growth lights. So…why doesn’t Trump take the greenhouse ball and run with it? And what an opportunity he has!
There are right around ten million dairy cows in 45 U.S. states. Which means, 45 states could support a year-round greenhouse industry.
Many of these 45 states have shuttered military facilities that can not be developed…due to contaminated soil and ground water. Fire fighting chemicals will do that. These BRAC military facilities have been shuttered for ten years and more. That said, the State of California presents a unique opportunity for Trump. Here is why.
1.6 M Dairy Cows in California consume 20 – 40 gallons of water a day.
Farm rich Central Valley is sinking given all of the ground water pumping during droughts.
Shuttered Fort Ord is 28,000 acres…80 miles south of San Francisco and near the Central Valley. Since the Israelis grow in 17 lb. plant buckets, the contaminated soil is four inches of concrete away from the plants.
Since the Israeli Greenhouse technology reuses the water dairy cows consume, California greenhouse operations will not need be so dependent on rainfall or snow fall…both unpredictable.
With Walmart as a partner, an annual off-take agreement ends all risk associated with the U.S. greenhouse industry. Since one operating greenhouse complex can support the financing of two more, the industry will grow all by itself. To be sure, unlike all the Green Economy scams from the Obama and Biden Years, (i.e. green fuels, green batteries, green solar, none of which works), the Israeli Greenhouse tech is proven and proprietary. Remember that Breck shampoo TV commercial, where the pictures multiply “and so on and so on and so on?” The U.S. greenhouse industry will grow like that.
No matter how cold it is…or how hot it is, the U.S. greenhouse industry will continue to grow the fresh, healthy produce American’s demand, year-round. Oh yeah…and the fruits and vegetables will be better tasting and more nutritious than the produce coming out of the hydroponic operations in Canada and Mexico. Israeli fruits and veggies are “just better.” If you’ve been to Israel, you know this is true.
When we self- source our food, perhaps those South and Central American leaders will get their own growers to focus on feeding their own populations, so they don’t have to come here? Call me crazy.
Given the 1.6M dairy cows in California, that translates to 516, thirty-acre greenhouse complexes that directly employ 51,600 people. So when Trump turns California Red, you can thank 1.6M dairy cows, the Ph.Ds. from Technion and the New York based family that owns the Israeli Greenhouse Tech.
Off my soap box.
Tomorrow, “Senator Tom Coburn, the budget doctor before DOGE. ” The good Doctor from Oklahoma had a better idea for Right Sizing the government. And Trump and Elon can still do this.
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