Fall is my favorite season. The colors on the trees here in Michigan are absolutely gorgeous! When I can get away, taking a drive or a ride on my Can-Am Spyder out and about brings fresh Ooo’s around every bend.
I grew up next to an apple orchard, Martin’s Fruit Farm (which is no more) in Flushing, Michigan. For fun, I would go over and help sort the apples in the bins for the different sizes. I’d watch them make cider and help doing whatever I could. I guess to a kid it’s more fun to help people that aren’t your parents! I was always sent home with cider or a bag of apples or something.
There are only a few things about fall I dislike. The days get short so fast it seems, at least until daylight saving time goes away. Fall signals that winter is around the corner – something I prefer to ignore until hit in the face with it.
And….fall can be soggy. Even way up here, away from hurricanes, or mostly away from them.
Hurricane Matthew – Thoughts Are with the Effected
My thoughts go out to all those affected by the hurricane. Displaced families. Businesses that are shut down, many of which will not reopen due to damage, lack of insurance, etc.
It behooves all of us to be aware of the ripple effect of a huge storm like this. Here’s an example.
Say a farm in Florida produces something made from something that is to be harvested this time of year. The harvest may be late, resulting in less fruit, or may not happen at all if the crop is destroyed.
Either way, the distributor that is to receive the harvest won’t be getting as much. And the Florida grower certainly won’t get as much money for the harvest.
Let’s say that the distributor sells part of the harvest to a paper manufacturer. Obviously this wouldn’t be ordinary paper, having a different texture and scent due to the harvest. In this case, the paper manufacturer may not get as much of the harvest as it needed, or it may have to pay more to ensure that it does receive what it needs. This might have another ripple to someone else that wanted to purchase part of the harvest but didn’t have the money to overcome the obstacle.
Now, the special harvest scented paper gets distributed. Some may be packaged to go to card and gift shops for sale. Some may go to a specialty card production company – scented invitations anyone? All of these folks could be affected by higher prices or lower quantities of the goods.
Ultimately, the consumers of these goods are affected by higher prices, lower supply, or both.
In all these steps, there are also truckers, railways, packaging firms, gas stations, etc. that are involved in the supply chain from this harvest.
Conclusion
So the next time you think, ‘oh, that hurricane, it’s in Florida. It doesn’t affect me,’ think again. The ripple effect can be very powerful indeed.
And me? I just wait for those dry days for a beautiful drive through the country side.
