One Earth Farms

[rkaiser]

not sure why you say they were not as good as they seem kato. I think the days of working until you die are admirable days and the whole retirement thing as led to the condition we are in that I refer to entitlement. This entitlement issue is rubbing off on those who are not even close to retirement and even as far down as our children. What is wrong with continuing to contribute to society or humanity until the day we surrender our bodies to the earth. Maybe we don't have to physically work until we are dead, but contributing by way of knowledge with such things as using a phone or a computer, or a pen and paper can be considered jobs.

I don't think you are suggesting entitlement kato, but I felt a need to add my two bits to the conversation.

[smcgrath76]

I think you have touched on an issue of
a disposable society. We work until we
are disposed of at age 65 (give or take)
and we are not supposed to enjoy work.
We are also told to work to earn the
money so that we can do what we really
want to do in the evenings and on
weekends.
My dad is a good example, 73 and not
retired (although not working as hard as
he used to). He does not enjoy finance,
etc. so I handle that part of the
operation. He does like picking bulls,
checking cows, riding horses, driving
tractor and likes to contribute
positively. He also has limited other
hobbies (read none). He likes ranching
and so that is what he does in his
"retirement".
I see a lot of people my age working for
the money and planning what they will do
when they retire. I do what I want to
do every day, and don't plan to retire
until I am dead (although I don't plan
to work as hard later in life). I have
also seen a lot of farmers move to town
and literally die from boredom or the
loss of self. I can't imagine not
enjoying the work I do, and would prefer
to "retread" rather than "retire".

[kato]

By "not as good", I meant that back then there were no other options except work. Which is OK if you are healthy. If you are not, then things could get rough. There was no pension, no safety net.

As for retirement, we're not really planning on it either. We're just going to keep chugging along, and downsize as needed to match the workload to the desire and ability to work.

We know some people who have retired in their 50's, like all the experts say they should. What we've noticed is that it didn't take long for idleness to get pretty boring. Some went back to work pretty quick.

[farmers_son]

Interesting discussion really. I did not foresee this ending up talking about retirement. Really the discussion about retirement anticipated agriculture being much the same as in the past while the original post tried to make the point that agriculture may be completely different in as little as ten years. Just like how one or two changes in the way grain freight rates were determined completely changed the prairie landscape with the disappearance of the grain elevator the way the land is farmed could change just as quickly. My point was that if, actually it is happening right now, investment capital from pension funds, insurance funds, the stock market and so on is attracted to agriculture as we see with Sprout Resources and One Earth Farms then the reality of agriculture in North American could change almost overnight. And it very well might. As fast as the prairie elevators came toppling over the small individual farms dotting the landscape will all be bulldozed over and the land farmed.

One Earth Farms has become the largest farm in North America in just three years. Three years ago OEF did not exist. And that was done with less than 60 million dollars of investment capital. Plus there is Assiniboia Capital Corp, Agriculture Development Corporation, Agcapita and that is just the tip of the ice berg. Think about the trillions of investment dollars (estimated to be over $23 trillion) that are out there looking for a home and you might begin to appreciate the future when agriculture attracts some more of those dollars.

I think Grassfarmer made some good points about the big farms of olden days versus family farms being more efficient. The USSR collectives had other problems one important problem being no profit motive. I think there is a point to be made that presently agriculture is undervalued, undercapitalized and so fragmented that opportunities to demand a decent return from the market place are missed. North American agriculture and the mom and pop farms are ripe for an “unfriendly takeover”.

We tend to think of our industry in terms of the past. And some of the discussion here made reference the past. But forget the past. It is gone. With subsidized ethanol the new agriculture produces energy not food. It is a new reality and part of that reality (I think I will use the word “will” not “might”) will attract hundreds of billions of investor capital dollars that will create a whole new landscape for agriculture. An agricultural landscape that has no more place for the mom and pop family farm than the new grain industry had for the prairie grain elevator.

[ASRG]

I suspect farmers son might be right.
That very well could be the future?
I'm not sure that is a bad thing?
At the end of the day that scenario might be better with a better rate of return on investment and probably a better standard of life and stability for the people doing the actual work.
Change is never easy.

[burnt]

ASRG - I would be interested in how you arrive at your statement - "probably a better standard of life and stability for the people doing the actual work."

I look around at the big farms in my part of the country and see the labor force being run into the ground by the owners who think that slavery is still in vogue.

What would make the situation more equitable in the scenario predicted in this thread?

[BTOfarmallll]

We's shuttin em' all down. From Zero Earth Farms to The Hutts to Rich Foreigners to Whoever, Whatever, all being run into The Ground. We built itall and it gonna stay that way. Runnin Cash Rent so Freakin High in the Coming Years, Sticker Shock, Hopefully it is enough to get these Sob's off the land. If I ain't, all this ground Our Forefathers Broke will be lost 4 good. Someones gonna pay, Mark My Words.............

[rkaiser]

I think I see what ASRG is saying here. The biggest challenge that corps are going to have is people. The farms that you are speaking of burnt - will fail. Those structures have been tried before and failed and will again.

Only respect for the most important resource in our future --- people -- will prevail.

The example of working with an investor to expand your own operation keeps coming back to me.

Yes change is coming and we can either grab the pitchforks and fight em off alongside BTO or get creative; and not only survive, but thrive.

[grassfarmer]

Farmers_son the biggest thing I would disagree with you on is your statement "With subsidized ethanol the new agriculture produces energy not food"
Two or three years ago that's the way it looked but I believe things are changing on that front and the ethanol craze will be discredited for the fools gold it really is. The world needs food and it needs water way ahead of it's need for fuel.

[farmers_son]

Maybe it people with money that will prevail.

And there is wisdom in Grassfarmers comments. But the U.S. is focused on more self sufficiency in energy. Short sighted maybe but governments really only operate in short time frames at the best of times. The next election.

When you consider we all sat in front of our TVs and watched millions of barrels of oil pour into the worlds oceans during the recent Gulf disaster and then consider that deep ocean drilling has resumed because the U.S. economy needs its life blood oil then I think subsidized ethanol is not going away any time soon.