Just curious

[bucket]

GDR

Good conversation....we all agree the primary producer is getting ****ed either by choice or by others...

But we must all recognize that if primary production is not profitable the rest of the industry will suffer.


Thats why I don't understand why there isn't a good farm program for western canadian farmers.


For instance, the lentil/pea import tariff is completely out of primary producers control but I can tell you who is absorbing the costs.

No other country would hang that portion of the industry out to dry. And no other industry would be left hanging like that either in Canada....well at least not in eastern Canada.

[Guest]

I agree with you on fuel but only because it is a widely used commodity and farmers are only a piece of the demand pie. Inputs such as fert and chem yes I think the companies take advantage of farmers when they can. Prices often follow profitability (up anyhow). But still boils down to what farmers are willing to pay and their marketing makes us think we will have a crop failure without. Prices reflect what the market will bare not the cost to produce. There are other options to conventional inputs, just not favourable to the majority. I did a couple surveys a while back to see what they were about from one of those farm marketing companies. Most of the questions were how many acres of product would you buy at "this" price, and how many if the price was higher etc.

Equipment prices absolutely a result of what farmers are willing to pay. Look at the last equipment revolution of vertical tillage, absolutely no way a glorified disk is worth 150G or more but hey if you want to show the neighbors you are keeping up with the times you gotta buy one and the cycle continues. New combines, drills and tractors look at all the bells and whistles and things they can do for you, and those sensors and cameras etc all great(When they work) But how much of that do we really need to do our job, all adds cost. Just try and find a stripped down plane Jane piece of equipment that is new or even used, you can't because the dealers can't sell them so they only order fully loaded stock. Completely farmer driven! As a whole not the individual.

When you see that new auger for $30000 that is nothing but a couple pipes a piece of fighting and a gearbox then look at a car lot. Same money will buy a really nice car with an engine, transmission, seats, safety equipment etc. Makes no sense at all but the car dealer falls all over themselves to sell the car yet the auger salesman won't even call you back cause he has a 2 page list of guys wanting to overpay for the auger.

SF3, we never had the investment money come into farmland here like you guys have, for sure non farmers have moved to the country to live and have helped to push up prices but most land deals are farmer to farmer still. Rents and land prices are strongly related, both driven buy farmers here. Just had the worst quarter in the area, often goes unseeded got rented out at $115/ac by tender process, can't tell me that is not caused by farmers!

this is a really good post , really puts it in perspective how we're getting screwed . then the auger company goes south at the first chance