And the really big winners from Phase One are (drum roll).....

[rickgthf]

And the really big winners from Phase One are (drum roll)....The Bankers!!

That's right folks, that's what it was really all about all along, getting the "Banks" into China.  And who was at the signing, and who did trump single out for special mention, J P Morgan's president.

 Who suffers from the remaining US tariffs?  American manufacturers (manufacturing index lower than 2009)  Who bore the weight of the trade war?  The Farmers.  Who were the big winners? The Bankers.

  All of you who thought this fight was about "intellectual property" or the "trade deficit", better think again.

  Somehow, things never seem to change.

[sdholloway56]

Farmers too.

Even though it was a difficult year for many, NFI projected to rise due to a sharp increase in government transfer payments of borrowed money.

BTW, I doubt that US banks are going to find that an easy environment to operate in.

[samalan1140]

Um the article written by chuck abbott today is laughable what kind of drugs is he on?

[illinifarmer]

I keep waiting for mikes comments today about how both trade deals were priced into the markets already.  Anyone remember when the last time big oil and big banks made out like bandits,? That is until it all came crashing down down around him G.W.B...  funny how history repeats itself.  Lol trickledown economics lol 😂 

[freedom1493]

I can't help but wonder, when I read the quote from the article below, whether the American farmer is facing the same headwinds that American manufacturing did, especially during the Clinton and GWB years, when all the manufacturers moved their operations offshore chasing cheaper prices and cheaper labor:

“U.S. corn is still not competitive yet. Let’s wait and see what happens in the coming months,” said the analyst.

How low does it have to go to "get competitive" in the world's eyes? 

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/your-world-in-agriculture/pockets-of-brazils-soybean-crop-faces-...

[rickgthf]

"Trickle down economics", speaking of which, do you know one of the  first mentions of the idea of "trickle down economics"? 

  William Jennings Bryan in his Cross of Gold speech in 1896, quote: "There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them."

  Just thought you'd like the historical reference.

[freedom1493]

Serious question:

What will having another Democrat in the White House bode for the American Farmer when all the candidates are pushing the Green New Deal and want to:

1.  Outlawwhat they consider "non-renewable" fuel(s)-driven cars, trucks and tractors.   (What's it gonna cost to charge up an Electric Combine?  When bad weather is knocking at the door, can you afford to hop off your Electric Combine and wait hours for it to charge up again?)

2.  Outlaw the use of natural gas.  "Clean energy does not include natural gas, biomass, nuclear power or the oxymoron 'clean coal.'" -- How will U.S. Farmers dry down using merely windmills and solar-driven power?  Can anyone afford a carbon tax of 22% added to their bill?

3.  Outlaw the consumption of real meat.  (memo to self:  make contacts with the Impossible Meat because they use soy to fake...oops, make their "meat.")

4.  Institute carbon credits and carbon taxes.

****

What's in the Green New Deal:

https://www.gp.org/green_new_deal

15 major cities around the world banning cars:

https://www.businessinsider.com/cities-going-car-free-ban-2018-12

****

AND here's for you, BA :

[rickgthf]

Serious answer, combines run just fine on biodiesel and they run even better on a mixture of biodiesel and ethanol.  But we're a long ways from eliminating all fossil diesel.

   The fact is, we could make substantial gains if we just moved our passenger fleet to electric. 

 The other fact is, farmers are missing a huge opportunity to use ethanol to literally pump carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.  For example,  a corn field is incredible carbon fixation machine, far better even than an Amazon rainforest.  Keep in mind, when corn is converted to ethanol the three products are approximately 1/3 animal feed, 1/3 ethanol and 1/3 carbon dioxide.  If that carbon dioxide was converted into a non-degradable plastic polymer and use as building material for instance the amount of atmospheric carbon fixed and trapped would more than compensate for any fossil carbon released from natural gas or diesel.  The carbon balance doesn't care if this particular pound of carbon is fossil or renewable but just that the sum is negative.

If our system was properly organized, corn farming could very substantially contribute to the solution to climate change.  If just the carbon dioxide generated from our current ethanol production was sequestered it would amount to 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide trapped per year.

   Farmers need to stop resisting the change we need and get behind the move to renewables and fighting progress all the time.  The truth is, environmentalists  are the nature allies of agriculture, not the enemy.

[sw363535]

I would like to see a cost analysis of converting carbon dioxide to "non-degradable plastic polymer" (even if in your pipe dreams you could get a permit to make it) and the expected cost change in construction based on that illegal substance.  

That is always the problem...... we are all full of ............................ideas.  But we are not too big on feasible ideas.  And we gotta live by the rules made by folks who haven't got a clue about anything but vague ideas.

I knew when you suggested moving the air transportation to electric you might be joking and when you said we can blend the fat based biodiesel with the water and carb based ethanol cram it in a $500K used combine and leave it set for a few hours,,,,,,............you might be wanting to test it on "mine" not yours.

A much simpler solution is to reduce use of energy by making it less affordable....... Not one green new dealer seems to be able to accomplish this....and that is easy.........cost effective --- could pay on the national debt.   Agriculture uses less and less $ per acre of energy over time..... But naturally GND wants to stop that and force you to farm with the "organic" plow.  Destroying the chemical industry, because they don't understand that stuff.  Thats Science and we don't do science here in congress...........just cash.

[freedom1493]

Rick...thank you for answering.

But I can't help but consider the fact that the Green New Deal outlaws biomass fuels ... which means NO ethanol from any plant source allowed. 

" "Clean energy does not include natural gas, biomass, nuclear power or the oxymoron 'clean coal.'"  - Green New Deal

"Definition of biomass

2: plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel"

Source:  Merriam-Webster

What's left?  Solar and Wind.  Can you/me/we operate a farm on solar and wind alone?  What would they need corn for if there are no animals to feed and no biomass fuels allowed?