Just found out about this recently and found it very interesting. Quick overview An interesting question to ask is why the US made this very generous offer to Russia at a time when they were intense enemies? The grain shortage in Russia could have lead to a general food shortage which could have greatly harmed Russia, something you would have thought the US would be happy to see. more links https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grain_robbery https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1973/11/16/america-gets-the-shaft-pthe-1972/ https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/07/30/The-great-Soviet-grain-robbery-10-years-later/5162396849600/ http://www.marketskeptics.com/2010/03/great-grain-robbery-of-1972.html
I didn't watch the video, but grew up on a US wheat farm through all that. It was heavy. After the first spike in prices a lot of farmers borrowed against everything they had to buy more land at inflated prices and new equipment. People were planting every inch of dirt, ignoring the tradition of leaving a field fallow (un-planted) for a season so the ground could recover. Some guys were planting in the road ditches all the way up to the highway trying to squeeze out a few more bushels. Then prices settled, banks still wanted their mortgage money and the repossession's started.
The scary bit was just after that when groups like the "posse comitatus" with ties to the Aryan Nations started coming around agitating these newly "dispossessed" people. Telling them just what they wanted to hear.
Very interesting reading all that. Funny how there are always people/government pulling levers to direct market activity for political reasons.
