Today's Farmer

[Steve]

The three basic problems the farmers have are supply, demand and price, which are all very hard to control. These problems flare out to make the food chain extremely complex because it involves every person on earth, the main reason we all need to eat.

The weather plays the largest part in supply and the demand is to some extent controlled by affordability, the hungry people don’t have money to buy what we produce.

We are all very independent in this good free world of ours, which means there is competition but this also creates problems in some parts of the food chain.

In the free world every person has a chance to be an individual therefore it is going to be very hard or maybe impossible to come up with a marketing system to satisfy everybody’s goal. With the present marketing some have a variety of wrong reasons why they are having cash flow problems and going broke. I will reframe from listing some because it surely would open a can of worms.

The crop insurance would be good and manageable if all the farmers would participate and treat it as input cost, every year not just when they think it will be needed. We could treat it like car insurance, always have it and use when you need it. [ this was forced on us by law but I think is good ]

At the present just a small percentage buy crop insurance and want the premiums back if it is not activated due to an average crop.

We can see where part of the problem could be our independence.

Farmers from all grain producing countries should send a strong representation to the world trade meetings. They should promote the idea that the world Governments could buy surplus grain at a fair price and feed the hungry and GIVE THEM FOOD NOT GUNS.

I believe this would help stabilize grain prices, also subsidies because the surplus is not there it is just the hungry have no money.

[cowman]

Steve: you lost me there when you said"this was forced on us but this is good" Are you saying we should be forced to participate in crop insurance? How about we should be forced to grow whatever the govt. decides? This is a slippery slope you are on here! What is best for the majority or what is best for me? Who decides? We have that wonderful institution(CWB) that already adheres to these principals!
As far as "give them food instead of guns" you just don't get it! There is ALWAYS money available for guns!!!! We don't need to give them money for guns...they have it...usually because they won't feed their people! And hey, if we give them food they can buy even more guns!

[Steve]

Cowman: I said that it is a good thing that all drivers should have car insurance and are you saying that it is up too the individual to decide if he needs it?

Someone asked earlier on if the crop insurance could be improved and my opinion is if we all worked together it is possible.

I also can see where the part that nobody is going to tell me what to do would eliminate that possibility.

The way I see it in most cases the end result is better to work together than against one another.

The thing about feeding poor people is a good idea and I would like to think that I always see the good side first.

[TOM4CWB]

Steve,

If crop insurance actually worked like auto insurance it would be a big improvement!!!

With auto insurance I am able to replace my machine with a simular model in simular condition.

If Crop Insurance paid my costs, like it will when I replace the vehicle that is damaged, then this would be a big step forward!

I am hoping that the Alberta government will take the Crop Insurance review seriously that Charlie Mayer did, But I won't hold my breath waiting for results!

A manditory system of insurance is cheaper to run, but...

If we can't even agree on crop insurance, how will we ever get a better marketing system?

[cowman]

There is a big difference between mandatory auto insurance and mandatory crop insurance. Mandatory auto insurance protects the other guy not you. Crop insurance protects only you. There are voluntary auto insurance policys(collision,comprehensive, etc) that protect you but they are NOT mandatory. Now if you get a loan from the bank they insist you take these out to protect them. I imagine the banks also want you to take out crop insurance if you owe them for crop inputs. The crop insurance scheme is just another subsidy. If it wasn't then the govt. should get out of it and let Mutual of Omaha take over. Hey, it might actually work then.

[ianben]

Is a subsidy a handout to farmers or food insurance for the public.
Surly these payments are made by our governments to insure a supply of cheap food.

[Steve]

The mandatory auto insurance is the same for everybody because you could be the other guy.

[cowman]

Steve: No. There is no other guy in crop insurance! Only me.

[TOM4CWB]

Cowman,

The other guy is actually the government, as when a weather disaster happens everyone goes running to them for compensation!!!

I hope a crop insurance program that comes closer to true cost of production can be created, as costs are higher each year therefore our risk is rising.

Younger and debt ridden farmers need crop insurance to control risk where farms that are close to debt free can self insure.

[cowman]

TOM: So, are you getting rich on the governments' compensation this year? Did they set aside a lot of money in the budget to deal with the drought? Well so much for that idea!
The best way to get a real system in place is get the government out of the business. Let the private insurers take it over. You'll get your full coverage. Of course it will cost more for premiums but it will be real insurance not some half baked subsidy.

[TOM4CWB]

Cowman,

No one ever said life would be fair, but...

If we look at NISA, Crop Insurance, and AIDA we are much better off than if the government invested nothing in our industry.

These programs even with their flaws are better at stabelising production, which all of us need to maintain critical mass and the value added industries that can afford to pay premiums for our products.

Being thankful however does not mean that we cannot do better, or should do better and create more effective and efficient government programs.

Cowman, would you not agree that our country and farms are in much better shape than our neighbours in the Africa,the Middle East, Asia, or South America?

Are we not better off than over 2/3rds of the rest of the world?

[TOM4CWB]

Crop Insurance: Ummmm? Crop insurance. The old GRIP program was likely the best insurance plan farmers could of had but it made government realize that they could not afford to farm either. Administration was a night mare and payments were made to to large of areas some of which did not reguire the assistants. Payments should have been made more regional where the need was necessary instead of Western Canada wide. Farmers should of had to produce cost of production receipts to qualify for their expected return payment. But farmers farmed the system and government paid out where it was not necessary. Grip was history due to lack of knowing input cost per individual farmer. Crop Insurance could have a much better coverage if proof of input cost were required for optium coverage. Crop insurance is a necessity in this day of high input cost. Our present crop insurance was put in place in the day when input cost did not play as big a roll in production. The Kernal.