Any conversation concerning support for the people of Ukraine should be dominated by ethical, religious and humanitarian perspectives. In the long course of history, that is how our actions will be judged. The total productive capability of that region has only been partially realized. Political disasters have annihilated development for generations, before collective farming stifled incentives. The infrastructure of the region is insufficient for the vast distances involved.
But things are changing fast, and technology, communication and education are bringing agriculture in the Ukraine into a new era, and some parts of the globe are now wholly dependent on agricultural production from that region. Allowing Ukranian production to fall into Russian control would put the food security of many more nations into the hands of Russian influence, and Russia has shown many times that it is very adept at using that type of sway to their advantage.
Our American farmers, their cooperatives β and the corporations that market grains and commodities β will be competing with a much stronger Russia, which has historically leveraged its controlled inventories to manipulate global markets. While Russia was blockading Ukranian grain exports, it offered free grain to six African nations to increase their dependence on Russian wheat. When I was a student attempting to save money to start farming, I worked for many farmers; many of them I counted as friends.
They often listened to and agreed with the. Their frustration about volatile and often inadequate commodity prices was being channeled against the Soviet bloc grain cartel, as well as the oil exporting countries of the time.
They often complained that the American farmer could compete very successfully against other producers, but not against foreign governments like Russia. If we abandon the Ukraine breadbasket to Russia, we will be giving the Kremlin a powerful tool to manipulate and subvert our commodity markets for an indeterminate period of time.
