Mr. Martin?

[kato]

That's just it..if we go out of cows, what do we go into? Start up a bunch of parks and invite tourists? Maybe we could charge Americans to come up and shoot gophers.

There is not one viable form of agriculture left in this country, except dairy and chickens, and I think if I had enough money to buy quota, I'd be sitting on a beach somewhere instead!

What is it going to take to fix this mess?

[cheetah]

kato, you are right. Beware if you go into chickens, you may lose before you start with the "birdflu". And with milk I don't think it is very good either. They always want the cows to produce more and more milk, although there is too much milk available. To get out of this mess, it would not only require the Canadian government to take action, but all governments world wide. We should go back with our farming practices just a few years. Get out of the "geneticaly modified crops, vegetables, etc.", not use hormones and antibiotics (last ones only for what they are meant). This means that we would be more "organic" kind of farmers. This way we will help protect our enviroment and produce healthy food. And our INPUTP RICES have to be in accordance with our PRODUCE-PRICES. This means there would be more farmers working less land and having less animals, but doing things better. Even maybe we could employ people. Today a calf is born one day and a year and a half later it should weigh 1200 lb to be slaughtered. Why do we want to alter nature. We cannot (for now) have a human baby born today and 5 years later it should be grown up, educated and able to work. The problem is that politicians want to keep food at affordable prices (although some are already too expensive) for the population, because if people get hungry they go against the government. But politicians do no worry about our inputcost, so we are told to produce "more" "thoretically more efficient" and "faster" too. But this philosophy also will come to an end if our inputcost continue growing. They are heading towards "industrialized farms", with which they will poison people in the long term. Since they are using all kinds of chemicals and modified things to make everything grow faster and under any weather condition. The world is very well planed for everything to be grown and raised, for example why would someone want to grow oranges in Canada, when they grow easily in other parts of the world? Furthermore I think if every farmer produces in the right way and not excesive amounts, there would not be problems. There are enough people to feed.

[cowman]

kato: I actually believe there are some forms of agriculture that are viable but they are basically "niche" deals and we can't all get into them or we'd flood the market.
And it helps if you are near a major market for these products. The pleasure horse market is strong. I just talked to a guy yesterday who sold small square bales for $4.25 at the local auction! I know of one couple who boards horses at $80/month year round.
Talk to some market gardeners. If they peddle their produce around at the farmers markets they are clearing in that $4000- $5000/acre range. Berries can be lucrative if you have a market. Some of the berry farms claim up to $12,000/acre! Now I suspect that is fairly wishful thinking?

[cowman]

Oh and Kato I forgot the number one agricultural product in Canada! Dope!
Why one acre would return more than 5000 acres of wheat! And you don't need no John Deere products to grow it!

[Horse]

Cowman you missed the best of all I was talking to a couple of er ladys the outer day and they told me they could make 50 thousand a yr off of all things hair and there is no seed to buy and you can make it off a piece no bigger than your hand now dont that beat all I havent figured out the marketing yet but when I do I will be in tall clover .

[cowman]

Ha Ha! Careful Horse, you're close to getting banned! That sort of thinking doesn't go over very well with the politically correct, you know?

[boone]

They say the worst part about gold mining is claim jumpin