Why we prep
Here's another reason why you – and your friends and family – should prep:
One of the nation's largest pension funds could soon cut benefits for retirees
Now I know that there's some folks reading this whose first thought is something like, "Well that will teach them!" or "Serves 'em right! They should have known that sweetheart deal was unsustainable!"
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But that's not what I think. See, when I was 18 and joined the military, part of the deal was that in exchange for low pay, a suspension of some of my rights, and the real chance of being killed, I would later receive help going to college, buying a home, VA health care and a free burial when the Lord calls me home. I didn't ask if the government could afford it. It was part of the agreement; and with the exception of that last service, I've used them all.
These union folk, truckers and their families, planned all their working lives on this pension; and seeing that it's likely to be slashed give me no joy.
The article states, "The proposal introduced in September by Central States would cut benefits for current workers and retirees by 23 percent on average, though exact amounts would vary based on people's age, health status and where they worked. For many retirees, the losses may be much steeper."
When I left the military and got older (and wiser), I could read the writing on the wall. I realized that promised future rewards were just that: a promise, a piece of paper quite possibly not worth the paper it was written on. So I went another way. The only thing that's truly yours is something you control.
Prepping means not counting on paper promises.
And that's one of the reasons we prep.
So as promised (heh heh) last week, here's how to store grain long-term.
First, get some grain. You can buy 50 lb. bags of rice at most of the box stores. Make sure to get the polished stuff if you want to really store long-term. All grains store better when the outer layers (the husk, bran and germ, in the case of rice) are removed. Bulk bags of legumes like black beans, lentils or pintos can be found in the larger warehouse and restaurant supply stores.
Locating wheat or other grain "berries" can be a bit more problematic. You can still order bulk wheat online, but shipping charges really add to cost. If you live in an area that grows a lot of grain, you can often buy bulk directly from a farmer, a local farm co-op or a processor. If you go that route, make sure you don't buy "seed" grain since it is usually treated with chemicals like antifungals. Also, if you buy direct from the farm, realize that the grain products might need a bit more "cleaning up," i.e. removal of some chaff and a closer scrutiny for bugs than the stuff from a store.
Okay. You got your grain. For our example, let's say you've purchased 350 lbs of hard red winter wheat and you've also purchased a wide-mouth screw top 55-gallon recycled poly drum. (The one in the photo, by the way, was used to transport olives from Turkey.)
After making sure that the drum is clean and dry, pour the wheat into the barrel until it is almost full, screw the top on tight, and you're done.
"Wait a minute, Pat," you may ask. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Oh sure! Sorry about that. Make sure you fill that barrel pretty close to where you want to store it, because that sucker now weighs 350 pounds.
"No, Pat. Something else. Something you're supposed to do to the grain before sealing it up in the barrel."
Well ... you're probably right, especially since I got my wheat from a local farmer. For added peace of mind, you should probably mix your grain with some food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE).
DE is a fine white powder made of the fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae, hence the name. DE has a lot of uses in industry, including cat litter and a stabilizer in dynamite, but it also works well as a food-safe pesticide. Per Wikipedia: "The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate."
Use about one cup (roughly 3 oz.) of DE for every 25 pounds of grain. Be sure to really mix the grain well with the DE. I also suggest you wear a mask. While DE is entirely harmless to animals and people when eaten, breathing it in isn't recommended any more than any other fine dust. You can get food-grade DE online for about a dollar a pound, and that includes shipping. Cheap insurance.
So there you go. Your grain is safely stored.
"Oh for crying out loud, Pat! What about Mylar bags? What about oxygen absorbers?"
Right. Here's the point where I tick off a whole bunch of people (again). For long-term storage of most hard grains and legumes, there is no reason to use a Mylar bag if you are using an air-tight barrel or bucket.
I know, I know ... when you cruise the information superhighway, you'll find prepper site after prepper site will say you MUST have Mylar bags (which they'll gladly sell you) to pack your stored food. They'll say you need to use a hot iron or a pricey professional bag sealer to close it. This way, they explain, you can protect your beans or rice or wheat or oats from the destructive effects of oxygen.
But then they'll also tell you that just sealing your food away in the Mylar bag isn't enough, because the bags are easily punctured and can be compromised by pests like rodents or bugs. So you need to put them into ... wait for it ... an air-tight container like a food-grade barrel or bucket.
Now a Mylar bag big enough for a 55-gallon barrel is about $25, the same cost as the barrel ... a barrel designed to handle and protect delicate food-stuffs in foreign warehouses and on ocean voyages.
Skip the bag. Go with the barrel.
So what about oxygen absorbers?
For those who don't know, the most common kind of oxygen absorber is made of an air-porous material containing iron powder and a salt. Because iron atoms strongly attract oxygen atoms, the free atoms of oxygen in air bind with the iron in the absorber. In a sealed container, the binding of the oxygen results in an atmosphere made almost completely of nitrogen, a very inert gas.
So why the hullabaloo about getting rid of the oxygen? Well, oxygen oxidizes. It binds with a lot of stuff; and when it does, it usually degrades the quality of the pure stuff it binds with. As an example, when iron binds with oxygen it makes iron oxide, also known as rust. Since we don't want our stored food to get all rusty and stuff, getting rid of the oxygen is a good thing – right?
Well, not so much. You see, without getting into the math, when a bucket is full of grain, the volume of unused space remaining is about 20 percent of the bucket's total volume. Air is about 21 percent oxygen (most of the rest is nitrogen), which means oxygen only represents about 4 percent of the bucket's total volume.
Four percent oxygen. Ninety-six percent food.
Even if all that oxygen binds with the food, once it does, it's done. Oxygen doesn't breed and it doesn't keep eating. It's locked up. Sure, you might get a small decrease in food quality (maybe the rice is a bit yellow on the outside), but it will still be edible, even after many many years.
Now I'm not saying Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers don't have their place. If I wanted to store food that is subject to hardening or breakdown, like brown sugar or dehydrated fruit, I'd use them. But for the lion's share of your long-term grain storage, Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers really aren't necessary.
Save the money and buy ammo. Just a thought.
Next week I'll give you a real-life example of what happens to food (beans, in this case) that's been bucket-stored for nearly 20 years without the use of either Mylar bags or oxygen absorbers.
Until then, be prepared.