Heidi Heitkamp........secy of ag

[rayjenkins]

I suggest clicking on the link to the WSJ article and read the comments

[northnd]

What the he!!. Cattle, sheep and a little wheat? Corn and beans have increased, but there is a lot of oil and confectionary sunflowers, flax, canola, edible beans, beets, lentils, hard red spring wheat, barley, peas and potatos. You know, things people actually eat to stave of the monotony of corn muffins and tofu. Like any state there are areas of more and less productive land. Also, like most every state those less productive areas will struggle in the current economic climate. I would say that's less than 1/3 of the state. Weather this spring and summer will have a lot to do with that outcome.

[Hobbyfarmer]

 Could you give the cliff note version since I am not a subscriber I only see the first two sentences of the article.

Iknow: all I can say is those that can not change or at least adapt usually go extinct.. 

[BA Deere]

Yes, the comments in those articles are always interesting.  Some 'farms" puff out their chests about "not receiving subsidies" like the fruit & vegetable growers and hog farms...however they all want foreign laborers picking their produce or working in the packing plants at substandard wages, so they are subsidized too, just not directly in the farm bill.  In the case of livestock these farm bills promote fencerow to fencerow production which leads to the cheapest possible feed and the "Environmental Qualities Insentives Program"...so we all have our hand in the cookie jar, especially the guy writing the WSJ article and all the commenters, they all bennefit from the incentivizied cheapest, safest food on the planet.   That is the biggest subsidy benneficiaries, spending 10% of their income on food as opposed to other countries where their food budget take 25% or more of their income.

[BA Deere]

Northnd, I realize that, but the bonanza farms had the wheat, cattle and sheep...North Dakota wasn`t a historical corn and soybean state.  It`s like Iowa, it used to be a top grape wine state and wineries are making a comeback, but basically we are hogs and corn and always will be, I wouldn`t call Iowa "Champagne country" 

[BA Deere]

Hobby, the article basically says "if Trump is serious about draining the swamp, he`ll get rid of farm subsidies as a litmus test"...and he hit crop insurance hard.   For better or worse I don`t care, I don`t need crop insurance and the ARC program is a joke...take it away, my hens lay the same eggs with it or without it. 

But the public`s perception of farmers has changed, they used to think of us a "Dukes of Hazzard" now they must think of us as "Keeping up with the Kardashians".  ElCheapo thinks of us as "The Walking Dead"    just kidding ElCheapo.

[lsc76cat]

The full article is on his blog:  http://jimbovard.com/blog/

Looks like another bloviator whose vote counts exactly the same as everbody else.

[roarintiger1]

I call dibbs on the swamp........after it is drained.   Should be some pretty good farmland under there to farm.  I don't care where it's at....I'll gladly travel for some good fertile soil.   Should be a lot of BS left after the swamp is drained.    

[elcheapo]

ok ba.........if you don't need it, then do you have crop insurance, and did you get your check from the fsa, sign it, and send it back to them ?

[lsc76cat]

rt = you don't want that ground = too much BS on it has made it toxic!!!!!