Agribusiness Takes all: 90 years of Canadian net farm income

[Crestliner]

This is an interesting graph. Even though it has been derived from an NFU hack...I think it has validity. My grandfather farmed 4 1/4’s didn’t have to borrow, had nice equipment, comfortable house and a new pickup every year and passed with money in the Bank....they had tough times coming through the 1930’s...but something happened along the way that allowed them to be prosperous.

[MBgrower]

This is an interesting graph. Even though it has been derived from an NFU hack...I think it has validity. My grandfather farmed 4 1/4’s didn’t have to borrow, had nice equipment, comfortable house and a new pickup every year and passed with money in the Bank....they had tough times coming through the 1930’s...but something happened along the way that allowed them to be prosperous.

the problem is we keep feeding the moster

[farmaholic]

Isn't it ironic that this tread gets resurrected just when the first of the 2018 seeding bills are arriving.

What happens if you dont have a signed credit application and you don't pay your bills? Lol

[farmaholic]

I bet most farmers didn't realize they had so many dependents.

Look around yourself sometime...its actually staggering. (Wife and kids don't count).

[FarmJunkie]

We do it to ourselves. Cheap money makes u a dependent on the system. Loans gotta be repaid so the crops gotta be sowed. If we all took one year off just imagine the long faces on all the parasites of the system.

[Sheepwheat]

We do it to ourselves. Cheap money makes u a dependent on the system. Loans gotta be repaid so the crops gotta be sowed. If we all took one year off just imagine the long faces on all the parasites of the system.

Ding ding ding!!!

I hate summerfallow, but to fix some of my land I did some last year for the first time in a long time. Spent a buck fifty on shovels, 4 or 5 bucks on fuel, and no one else got a cent. Including me. But it was a dream not being leached off of.

I have a bit more this year. Fixing the rutted and wrecked land in rotation. Was able to put a bit more effort and dollars into what I did seed, and finally was able to do it on my own dime. Could be a turning point for us...

Maybe our fathers weren’t so dumb by starving the leaches. Now, it seems we bend over to do what we can to spend all we can to grow all those bushels for the trains.

[bucket]

Ding ding ding!!!

I hate summerfallow, but to fix some of my land I did some last year for the first time in a long time. Spent a buck fifty on shovels, 4 or 5 bucks on fuel, and no one else got a cent. Including me. But it was a dream not being leached off of.

I have a bit more this year. Fixing the rutted and wrecked land in rotation. Was able to put a bit more effort and dollars into what I did seed, and finally was able to do it on my own dime. Could be a turning point for us...

Maybe our fathers weren’t so dumb by starving the leaches. Now, it seems we bend over to do what we can to spend all we can to grow all those bushels for the trains.

And build their bins as well...and pay for their railcars...

[hobbyfrmr]

I bet most farmers didn't realize they had so many dependents.

Look around yourself sometime...its actually staggering. (Wife and kids don't count).

I have noticed that when I started saying “no thank you, I’m good” to the retail sector, life improved on my farm. I still have expenses for sure but 65% of it has been redirected to people instead of major corporations . Farm helpers, mobile mechanics, a/c guy, local welder/repair guy and I waste a lot on myself and kids.
This is just an observation, not trying to pick a fight. There is no way that I can dispute the exceptional production volumes from my high input neighbors. They have terrific yields and employ many locals. They own elevators and houses in small towns so the taxes and grocery store benefit the community.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I think you guys might have the cause and effect backwards. First of all, no one is forcing anyone to buy expensive inputs, as Hobbyfarmer proves.
Secondly, it is the presence of these inputs which has allowed farms to grow to massive sizes, big farms don't need as much profit per acre as small farms, profit is what drove farms to get bigger, if profits are and have been so poor, why would we want to take on additional land?

Do you expect Walmart to have the same net profit as the thousands of Mom and Pop stores they have displaced?

Not going to argue that we are better off this way, but it is not as dire as the chart makes it look, see my comment above from months ago, divide that profit by the declining number of farmers, and we are doing very well now compared to almost any time in history. The chart should show per capita(farmer), not total, total is quite useless.

[Sheepwheat]

I think you guys might have the cause and effect backwards. First of all, no one is forcing anyone to buy expensive inputs, as Hobbyfarmer proves.
Secondly, it is the presence of these inputs which has allowed farms to grow to massive sizes, big farms don't need as much profit per acre as small farms, profit is what drove farms to get bigger, if profits are and have been so poor, why would we want to take on additional land?

Do you expect Walmart to have the same net profit as the thousands of Mom and Pop stores they have displaced?

Not going to argue that we are better off this way, but it is not as dire as the chart makes it look, see my comment above from months ago, divide that profit by the declining number of farmers, and we are doing very well now compared to almost any time in history. The chart should show per capita(farmer), not total, total is quite useless.

Greed. None of my neighbors actually needs more land. But I tell you, they all want more land. It is all they are after in this world, more land. It makes no sense to me, but it is what they desire. I think they like the iron? Think they need the iron? You should see my emergence from my ancient piece of junk seeder vs a paralink. Very comparable. But farmers need more and better, then whine and complain when the trains don’t show...

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Greed. None of my neighbors actually needs more land. But I tell you, they all want more land. It is all they are after in this world, more land. It makes no sense to me, but it is what they desire. I think they like the iron? Think they need the iron? You should see my emergence from my ancient piece of junk seeder vs a paralink. Very comparable. But farmers need more and better, then whine and complain when the trains don’t show...

That is my point, if the situation were so dire as that graph purports to show, The greedy ones would be getting out as fast as they could and getting jobs in town. Instead the greedy ones are expanding as fast as they can do to the Very good profits we are seeing per farm.

[farmaholic]

We do it cause were good people and for the love of the land !

Not for agri business !

".....for the love of the land"

Sounds like a toxic two-way abusive relationship.

More like a dysfunctional bipolar situation...