How bout some aid now boys

[cuban_assassin]

No I'll leave the 4940 in the shed and bring the 1970 chev 3 ton. Remember boys perception is reality. If I drove the 4940 the city folk would think I actually own it and therefore come to the conclusion that I have lots of money and don't need financial aid. We are looking for sympathy so bring old shit!! The only thing I have thats paid for is the 3 ton!
The people with all the money are the people that don't look like they got a pot to piss in. The guys that have all new shit have no money they just finance everything. If you got two feet and a heart beat you can get financing for anything these days! People in general particularly younger folk are not afraid of debt and therefore borrow as much as they can.

[farmaholic]

Amazing how we can't get past the personalities and bullshit to present a unified front, no wonder!!! Divided and conquered we will remain...

I have young neighbor's kids that want to farm and had a string of bad luck or a year like this, they're out without arms length or non arms length help. A lot of times with no fault of their own, other than a passion to farm, they aren't all "bad managers". No body owes anyone a living but this ****ing racket(Farming) isn't quite like many others... . Anyone realize what the average age of the current set of Producers is? Wake up, there will be another generation of lost producers because of the environment they are expected to succeed in, harsh, high risk, uncontrollable circumstances, capital intensive. Honest efforts can be quashed by weather then there are the input suppliers and the grain merchants. No guaranteed profits and "programs" designed to barely keep the vulnerable in the game. That's it, keep the corporate models in the game, the One Earths and Broad Acres, where are they now? Just goes to show how dysfunctional the system is, only people willing to sacrifice or cross subsidize with off farm income or their wife working will survive. Save the farm at all costs. **** it, let it die. Maybe they'll find other uses for half million dollar(MSRP)farming equipment and Fert, Chem and $12/lb canola seed. I don't know many other Industries that use that stuff. Or better yet, maybe the ones that need farm commodities can vertically integrate down the "value" chain and produce it themselves...

I will be here another year, it's some of my fellow producers I'm concerned about.

[TOM4CWB]

Parsley,

I am with you on this one. Inviting Gov to pay us more than we qualify for now...means more micro management in our already regulated lives.

Compared to 80 percent of other food producers in the world... we have very good programs to cover risk. There is no free ride. Neither should there be!

Cheers!

[riders2010]

Programs are a joke.
It's emberrassing we have a premier and federal ag minister sitting on their asses collecting their wages and ignoring that the programs don't work.
Emberrassing farmers that have had good fortune weather wise saying screw you to the rest of us.

Time to expose who is getting program money. And to get a real news report on how fkd up the programs are.

Ditz and wall should be paid according to same formula as agrivation and crap insurance. Let's take the averages of the years they have no income and make it your income going forward
Sound stupid when you put it that way doesn t it.!!!!!

[cottonpicken]

Everyone everywhere wanting the government to do something and then boom your Greece and the chaos and pain start.

[TOM4CWB]

Riders you are way off.

I buy house fire insurance, vehicle insurance, and liability insurance for our farm... ALL WITH THE HOPE we will NEVER need any one of them.

I do not expect a return on investment... unless we have a SERIOUS loss... otherwise I cover small loses as farm expenses.

Crop Insurance is no different in my opinion. NOT a ROI tool... it is disaster insurance.

Around here... this is NOT a 2002 type event. We have some reserve moisture to feed the crop. It is supposed to be under 30 for the next week. If so we will have at least half a crop.

[farmaholic]

Both Cotton and Tom's comments are true but.....

[bgmb]

Vvalk no I drive brand new but I think farmers should be happy with the programs we have I don't see why anyone would need more aid than crop insurance and Agri invest. I agree the Feds gutted agristability when the changed the way the reference margin was calculated limiting it to your expenses. That was as good of a program as anyone could want but now it is gone for many of us. All I am saying is between crop ins and agristability guys should be looked after.

[LEP]

I debated whether to write this post as I am gonna get jumped on but here goes ...

The late eighties I was a partner in a restaurant/catering business. We went along for years things were pretty good and then the manager made a couple bad moves and we have some losses on catering. The economy slows down and people are eating out less. Things go for shit, can't get credit, we fold.

I am left with basically nothing as used fixtures don't bring squat when you sell. About 48 full and part time staff are out of a job and I lose most of what I own to that point of my life.

My point being business is not easy and neither is farming. But at least with farming I control how much I spend on inputs, machinery, land etc. If I seed a crop I have some insurance albeit skinny coverage, I have the government give me money through agriinvest every year.

Take a look around your farm and think, how much of this equipment do I have to have or could I run something cheaper. Did you have to rent that land for $75 or should you have passed on it. Did you have to buy $1,500 an acre land and borrow every cent including the legal costs or could you have said ya know Only 1 in 10 years will I make a return on this land.

These are management decisions that when you make them you gotta realize they have a long term effect on your operation. Nobody should bail you out from that.

Adversity is part of farming. If it was easy everyone would do it.

Also, if you run too close to the edge you gotta realize you might fall off.

[TOM4CWB]

LEP,

Amen.

We have some of the best neighbours in the world... and if we treat them fair... most will bend over backwards to help us out.

This is the cooperative spirit that can reduce costs and make things work on the farm. Same with the family members. A little give from time to time... goes a very long way... if we are humble and don't always insist on our own way. This is what built western Canada! And what will keep us going!!!

[bgmb]

Also vvalk, I agree we need to push for transparent markets on both sides of the equation, that is the number 1 priority in my books

[farmaholic]

True LEP, but sometimes things go beyond "bad decisions and poor management". Many many people use modest equipment and inputs and don't buy or rent high cost land and will be in trouble.


Re AgStability.

I chose not to be in crop insurance, of which I would have seldom if ever collected, and just AgStability and AgInvest. Firstly AgInvest is hardly a windfall, what does it pay for in the grand scheme of things? AgStability was my choice of insurance and was half decent until they gutted it. The fact I chose not to be in crop insurance and have my AgStability margin at risk was my choice, Crop Insurance procedes are classified as farm income for purposes in calculations of Agstability. So if my margin was to slowly erode, therefore reduced coverage, due to the fact that I chose not to be in crop insurance was my choice and risk. Then they changed Agstability...which rendered it almost useless despite my choice not to be in crop insurance.

AgInvest, the government knows who has and doesn't have an account balance in AgInvest. Those who deposit and withdraw every year versus those who haven't used any of the money. Just like Nisa, it is hard to ask for money/aid when AgInvest accounts aren't being used!!! But what will it "buy" you out of? Really, what? The fertilizer bill for a quarter or two of land?

I try to look at the whole picture.