Does Austin and the metros along I-35 between San Antonio and DFW pose threat to Central TX Farmland? (Georgetown: organic, grocery stores)

[cBach]

Back to the thread, most of the farming land in this country is corn, soybean, wheat, or cotton. There is very little land that is capable of growing produce and it is the Central Valley of California, the Imperial Valley of California, the Salt River Valley of Arizona (near Phoenix), the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, Southern Louisiana, and the farmlands south of Orlando. Rice production is concentrated in Southern Louisiana and the coastal Bend of Texas and sugar production is almost solely concentrated in Louisiana and Arkansas. The cotton belt is in the Panhandle of Texas, you can see tons and tons of those crops when you drive out there. Winter wheat is in western Texas mainly. This part of Texas grows corn or is pasture land. The corn that is grown is primarily feed corn, i.e. corn to feed to animals, mainly cows, pigs, and chicken.

Cotton:


Winter wheat:


Corn:


Sugarcane (S. Louisiana and Florida):
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Charts_and...unty/sc-pr.php

Rice:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_p...production.svg

This link explains things in great detail:
https://www.vox.com/a/explain-food-america

This shows where produce is grown, very limited and California is the fruit and vegetable basket of the country:
https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4565..._by_county.png

So the answer to your question is that there is no risk to the crops grown around Austin to development. The greater risk is the scenic lands to the west of Austin (Hill Country) being paved over as that land is forested.

[Trainwreck20]

We are number 5 in rice, and it is waaay back of number 4....

[capcat]

Originally Posted by CalTex Ranger

While I’m a huge fan of HEB, Kroger quickly stepped into the breech when Harvey hit.

I work with Operation BBQ, and Kroger was the first to hit us up and donate meat. My team did close to 300 pounds of BBQ in our first 48 hours - all of which was Kroger beef and pork.

Sorry to bring this thread back to a few posts ago, but I’d never heard of Operation BBQ and am glad you brought that into the conversation. I notice they have a cookbook available, put together by volunteer pitmasters. Thanks! And thanks for your work.

[brock2010]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I don't know the comparative wages between cities in Texas, but HEB generally pays notably above minimum. I talked to an HEB stocker on a plan trip a few years ago, and he had maxed out at a pretty low-level wage - maybe $8 or a bit more? He said that the cashiers could make quite a bit more, but he tried it once and 'it wasn't for him'. He apparently liked his job and recognized that his skill set was not the more 'in demand' skills of a cashier. I don't have the exact numbers or anything, but Glassdoor probably would have some good data.

20+ years ago, I dated a woman that had been a checker in Los Angles. She was making $15/hr in the 1980s in DT LA.



HEB, as I understand it, runs 'debt-free' - the benefit of taking 125 years to get where they are now instead of going into debt to get there. So, they run without having to service any debt. That is a HUGE advantage and the hammer they keep at their belt to keep competition out. They are also privately held, which allows them to play for 'the long game' instead of quarter-by-quarter earnings reports.

That said, Krogers does well in Texas in the Houston area, where it does go head-to-head with HEB; however, I think HEB would battle ferociously if Kroger's tried to enter Austin/San Antonio, which is their 'turf'. Krogers is in Dallas and HEB has Central Markets up there, but I don't think they have any immediate plans for Dallas. They indicate that they WILL eventually head that way, but not when.

I have heard that Publix is the closest comparison to HEB, but have only been in them a few times while in Georgia.

Randalls is really only for people that a) don't want to fight a crowd b) want to pay initial high prices than 'get it back' via Randall's 'discount' card and feel they saved a lot of money, or c) don't like shopping with minorities.




I think they have plans for 100+ stores in central Texas.

Is Albertsons a presence in Central Texas? I do like Aldi as well.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by brock2010

Is Albertsons a presence in Central Texas? I do like Aldi as well.

No. It was chased away by H-E-B in the early 90s, from my experience.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

No. It was chased away by H-E-B in the early 90s, from my experience.

Heh, did a search on Albertson's site:

Sorry, there are no locations within 50 miles of "Austin, TX" satisfying the selected filters.

[brock2010]

Albertsons and Kroger are very similar in price.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by brock2010

Is Albertsons a presence in Central Texas? I do like Aldi as well.

Randall's is in Austin(part of the Albertsons family) and one Aldi has located in Pflugerville(outside of Austin); but no Albertsons nearby.

[TexasHorseLady]

Aldi's is coming to Georgetown.



I've never understood the appeal of Aldi's.

[nedergras]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Central Texas produces only modest amounts of produce, most of our food comes from the Rio Grande Valley.

Hemp would thrive in Central Texas.