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Changing The Rules In The Middle Of The Game
For much of our memory of U.S. agriculture, farming used diverse practices. In an attempt to use every resource, every bit of ground, every family member and every market, farms often grew many products. Of course, in some areas there was only one thing to do - graze catte or sheep, grow wheat and so forth. But in many areas, up until recent times farms grew nearly all their own food. They had cattle, hogs, chickens, horses, sheep, geese, and grew corn, oats, timothy, wheat. Farm families worked all year round at something.
If one enterprise went bad, often something else propped the farm up. Granted, not always, but often.
Now, we are a monoculture. Corn and soybeans. Wheat. Rice. We've gotten so good at doing some things that we feel we can't stay diverse.
So we live and die on one or two products. We got ourselves into this mess and we can't get out.
Along comes different trade rules and we're unable to adapt.
Is this Darwinism at work?
Does the government owe us a stable economic environment so that we can tweak and fine tune our corn production? Or does the government just owe us an opportunity to produce what the consumer wants , even if that means some lean years when we're out of whack?
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Re: Changing The Rules In The Middle Of The Game
Race to the bottom. Without the economies of scale our farmers couldn't compete against farmers overseas, and we can't revert back to subsistence farming now. Just too late in the game and the economies of scales for these products have been developed in other countries as well. You mention diversifying, but don't mention organic, non-gmo, and niche crops. This is the only way out for the modern economy of scales, you have to differentiate yourself just like any other product.
I'm of the belief that the government doesn't owe us anything, except for potential opportunity.
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Re: Changing The Rules In The Middle Of The Game
While visiting some folks in Northern & Central Indiana it is prevalent those folks have not fall'n into the mono culture destiny - - -
This area around US 20 & US 30 corridor - - -
High presence of livestock - VERY LITTLE Nuisance observed - in comparison of some states to the west ?
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Re: Changing The Rules In The Middle Of The Game
WHO R THESE oversea's competitors - South America - where seed was priced well under the USA seed price ?
So raising 5000 acres of something at a 20 % under cost of production is WHAT ?
Looking at forecast for 2019 - what is your break even ?
Please - Explain your last sentence 92 ?
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Re: it appears your version of supposed govt
Rules is the same....the govt owes, it owes, it owes.
What would happen if the govt just protected the shores and delivered the mail?
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Re: it appears your version of supposed govt
NO Schools
No Roads
No Ports
No Broadband for Rural Land
No Brand Inspection
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Re: Changing The Rules In The Middle Of The Game
The "overseas competitor" is the BTO neighbor that has 20,000 acres and buys seed, fertilizer and chemicals 50% cheaper than you and if you have the volume to sell corn and beans in 100,000 bushels slugs, there`s a premium over the guy selling grain one 200 bushel Parker box at a time. The "Walmartization of agriculture", it sucks but it`s the rules of the game for some time now. And still some wonder why the small rural towns are boarded up and empty, no young person in their right mind won`t want to crawl into that snake pit to make a living.
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Re: Changing The Rules In The Middle Of The Game
Those glamorous diversified farms of bygone, failed at a 70% rate.
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Re: Changing The Rules In The Middle Of The Game
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Re: Changing The Rules In The Middle Of The Game
SW, volume is rewarded in today`s economy including agricultural specialization. You might not like the economist that explained it but he did give a simple explanation.