ARC and crop insurance payments

[roarintiger1]

 These two payments may well be the net farm income for 2016.  They will be welcomed by most farmers..... All be it while complaining about the government's interference. Most farmers realize however, it is because of the government's interference that the prices are as low as they are.  The  USDA can't seem to get out of their own way........However, an abundant and inexpensive food supply is their goal.  I'd say they have reached their goal for this year.  Afterall, hasn't everyone noticed that the food prices have really come down along with the grain markets?  

Feel free to discuss.

[sfarms3419833]

Yes, I was amazed how quickly prices in the grocery store have gone down.  I also have seen numerous reports in the media offering apologies to farmers for reporting that ethanol was going to drive up the price of food for all eternity.

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

I have no idea what the payments are, since I'm not in the farm program and don't pay any attention to them.

[illinifarmer]

Must be nice here in IL prices on food continue to rise. 1 gal of milk 4.29$

[sfarms3419833]

I was being sarcastic.

[illinifarmer]

I apologize I completely missed that you couldn't be more correct it's amazing how high it all went (food) when grains took off. Without any return on the flip. Lol just got back from grocery store when I read it.

[hardnox]

As always, I tend to blame the scope and ambition of the initial policy but I'm accustomed to having no takers on the proposition.

As far as the replacement of MTBE, there was no perfect equivalency as far as amount- it varied by pollutant type and there's absolutely nothing other than a nice round number that made 10% correct.

And the net energy contribution is small and the larger portion- cellulosic- has been an epic fail.

I really don't think the gubmint is out to get you in any particular regard.

But there is a question of to what extent the gubmint should step in and correct for damage from previous ill conceived policy.

I actually don't think the current crop insurance/countercyclical system is all bad as a way to cushion the landing (other than to say that I thought it would end up costing far more than advertised).

I did argue for stricter caps (like that's going anywhere) and that would have perhaps brought rents down a tad.

If the gubmint supported corn at $7 you'd just end up with $700 rents and $300 an acre fertilizer bills. Then you'd need $10.

[illinifarmer]

What's wrong with that? In my eyes and many others that's called progress. Instead of the present set in moving backwards. Let me ask a personal question in your opinion is it justified that everyone in the industry gets paid, or everyone except the farmers? Christ it is 2016 don't really see the issue with 10$ corn other than paying farmers that much. Everyone will sell their construction companies and start farming for the "easy money" ohh wait that aleady happened at 7$. How many people do you personally know that are making the same or less than they did in the eighties when cost of living and farming was 2000% cheaper. You know one now; by the way corn traded at 3.30$ in 80' March I think. Sure the yields and tech were less but so was the Monsanto America Tax.

[hardnox]

Sure.

Just need to get everybody to fire up the Steiger Quad Tracs and head for the Capitol*.

Now that would make for a heckuva photo op.

*might be able to catch a few zzzs on the way of they set the autosteer.

BTW, I'm very much in favor of policies, including ethanol, that might stabilize farm economics. But I'm 100% opposed to an approach that says that we need to keep world grain stocks, with all the destabilizing factors there, at razor levels with ethanol in order to help farmers meet cost of production (which will just rise then anyway).

I do think we've done that fools errand once and are not likely to go back. Which may be too bad as it may very well have eliminated some of the coutercyclical opportunities that a more subtle ethanol approach could offer.

Again, an unfortunate unintended consequence of the overshoot.

[roarintiger1]

Hardnox,  There is a forest here.......not just trees.   If you think that $7.00 corn is bad, you are only looking at one side of the woods.   Farmers want a fair price for what they raise.......based on what everyone else in the ag business is making.   Let's take a look at the chemical company, the fertilizer company, the seed company, the fuel company, the farm equipment company, the tech company, the farm supply company, and ALL THE FOOD COMPANIES.     And you tell me which of these companies takes less today for their products than they did 20-30 years ago?

I will never apologize when I make a dollar, because it's not an easy dollar to make on the farm.  I take nothing for granted.