There’s a cauliflower shortage in the US – guess why?
Cold weather in certain growing areas and the popularity of low-carb/paleo diets have resulted in a severe US cauliflower shortage. The shortage is predicted to last well into January.
The proliferation of paleo and low-carb diets promoting the use of cauliflower hasn’t helped matters; cauliflower is now sometimes used as a rice or potato substitute or to form pizza crust
Quartz: There’s a Cauliflower Shortage in the US, and It’s Making Prices Skyrocket
Do you have cauliflower at home? Try these delicious dishes:
Cauliflower recipes
http://clui.org/ludb/site/brawley-sugar-plant
This is the region where the cauliflower shortage is happening, according to the Quartz news article.
Anybody want to guess what a possible solution to increasing cauliflower production may be in this area? I think the answer is obvious.
I also wonder what the revenue economics per square kilometre may be when switching crops (beets to cauliflower), as well as what impact any government subsidies is having in this area to influence types of crops, too. There is an impact on labour force, too. Beets are harvested by machines, and then processed in a large production plant, employing many people. Cauliflower on the other hand is harvested by manual labour, out in the fields, and just stored before being transported to point of sale (minimal processing).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_beet
Cauliflower production yields 35000 plants per hectare
https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/broccoli/planting-configurations-and-dens...
If LCHF will become more popular, which will likely increase cauliflower consumption and decrease sugar consumption, my guess is that the imperial valley farmers will need to consider the above data in planning their crops.