The future of farming--- The bottom line for me is that the world is growing and people need to eat. How the future of farming will look is the question. With two teenaged boys that both desire to farm I have given a lot of thought to position ourselves to make this obtainable. I see the successful farms around now that are now are worlds ahead of what we used to do for management and financial planning. We have great resources out there to build the right business plan
Attitude : I follow this site quite a bit and post now and then. I have to say that I am disappointed by all the negative, pessimistic attitude that seems so pervasive in so many of the comments. Reminds me of a local guy that always was bitching about everything with the farm, too dry, too wet, low prices , high ,machinery costs and so on. Later on he was sad that none of his kids wanted to farm. No surprise if the kids heard that negative attitude towards farming. I know I wouldn't have farmed if my dad talked that way.
Land: We rent land but own most of what we farm. I believe land ownership is the key to the long term sustainability. In too many places around the world tenant farmers are the norm. Our forbearers left Europe to get away from this and own their own land here.
Economics: For any system to be sustainable, all segments have to be profitable. We simply cannot produce a product for less than a reasonable return on investment or eventually the system will crash, maybe not today but eventually the equity is gone. We are sometimes our worst enemy as guys sell less that their cost of production to create cash flow but this drags the price down. I am optimistic that governments just don't have the money to prop up farm economy's with subsidies that they used too. (EU and US). This promoted oversupply.I know I'm jumping all over here but it boggles my mind how many farmers don't think beyond the pit off the local elevator or the ring at the auction mart, as though those local people had any power to affect prices to any degree. I have seen it both ways. Might have been at crop week or such but I recall hearing a farmer berate a overseas pulse buyer that they need to pay more as the pea price was just too low and below the farmers costs, as though the buyer could just as easily past on a higher price to the pulse buyer in India or what you. Or conversely I remember in 08 or 09 when pulse prices where going through the roof , at a similar
venue I had a pulse buyer from overseas tell me I needed to "charge less" for my peas as the price was getting cost prohibitive for the person on the street in India to afford to buy food. As though we have the power to set price. We are all marionettes in a global game. I do have the power to decide what I grow and sell it at a price I can live on.
I am hopeful to continue farming until the next generation gradually takes over the operation.
Attitude : I follow this site quite a bit and post now and then. I have to say that I am disappointed by all the negative, pessimistic attitude that seems so pervasive in so many of the comments. Reminds me of a local guy that always was bitching about everything with the farm, too dry, too wet, low prices , high ,machinery costs and so on. Later on he was sad that none of his kids wanted to farm. No surprise if the kids heard that negative attitude towards farming. I know I wouldn't have farmed if my dad talked that way.
Land: We rent land but own most of what we farm. I believe land ownership is the key to the long term sustainability. In too many places around the world tenant farmers are the norm. Our forbearers left Europe to get away from this and own their own land here.
Economics: For any system to be sustainable, all segments have to be profitable. We simply cannot produce a product for less than a reasonable return on investment or eventually the system will crash, maybe not today but eventually the equity is gone. We are sometimes our worst enemy as guys sell less that their cost of production to create cash flow but this drags the price down. I am optimistic that governments just don't have the money to prop up farm economy's with subsidies that they used too. (EU and US). This promoted oversupply.I know I'm jumping all over here but it boggles my mind how many farmers don't think beyond the pit off the local elevator or the ring at the auction mart, as though those local people had any power to affect prices to any degree. I have seen it both ways. Might have been at crop week or such but I recall hearing a farmer berate a overseas pulse buyer that they need to pay more as the pea price was just too low and below the farmers costs, as though the buyer could just as easily past on a higher price to the pulse buyer in India or what you. Or conversely I remember in 08 or 09 when pulse prices where going through the roof , at a similar
venue I had a pulse buyer from overseas tell me I needed to "charge less" for my peas as the price was getting cost prohibitive for the person on the street in India to afford to buy food. As though we have the power to set price. We are all marionettes in a global game. I do have the power to decide what I grow and sell it at a price I can live on.
I am hopeful to continue farming until the next generation gradually takes over the operation.
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