Wakey Wakey ag farm groups and politicians. Houston we have a Problem.

[bucket]

You also have to remember that although Devine's payment was helpful it also brought about substantial change in agriculture.....direct seeding, changing or rotations, etc...but now we have sort of hit a wall as to what more can be done...

Bigger drills? more acres? higher yields? the return on investment have not kept pace ....so if you want a healthy farm industry that attracts youth to the farm....someone better figure a new path pretty quick or a real generation of innovative farmers will simply walk away...

And the end result will be corporate agriculture will eventually be asking for more help than the current set of farmers are asking for.

[jazz]

Bigger drills? more acres? higher yields?

100% NO - That is not the way forward. Chasing higher yeilds brings more risk, then an event like this occurs and we get hung out to dry. Or a market goes south and we get stung.

The solution will be more of a hybrid approach. Its the only path that is sustainable. Diversifying and not just crops types but farming methods as well. Other income. Actual investing in something other than depreciating iron or expensive dirt.

Learning proper tools to hegde market risk and I dont mean crop insurance.

[SASKFARMER3]

I agree somewhat but when,

Railways fail farmers,

Grain companies fail farmers,

Seed deals fail farmers,

Equipment consolidations fail farmers

Chem company and Fert consolidation monopoly creations fail farmers,

Unions who load ships or run trains or buy grain fail farmers

Banks who ramp up on boom and Claw on fall

Politicians who want the media shot but do nothing

Farm groups who just want check and Holliday and do nothing

Crap insurance programs that are from 1870s logic

Ag stab that has no substance but if you do get you pay it back a few years later.

Finally other countries farmers come first Canada all the parasites are first farmers last

Sad really.

[malleefarmer]

Not canadian shouldnt comment but i dont disagree with some of jazz's philosophies.

Here in oz big shift back to mixed farming in lower rainfall higher risk farming areas

[jazz]

Not canadian shouldnt comment but i dont disagree with some of jazz's philosophies.

Here in oz big shift back to mixed farming in lower rainfall higher risk farming areas

I spent nearly a decade in the patch analyzing business deals and I can tell you honestly there is no company on the planet that would take the kind of risk ag does without a true backstop. We will never have one here so we need to think different.

My parents and grandparents all worked mixed farms. Not saying they were super successful anything, but they always had another income in case primary grain income failed. And it failed often.

That doesnt mean we have to load up on cows and chickens, but how many farmers own stock or ancillary businesses. My accountant says I should own stock in the ag companies. Expansion to most farmers always means more land and iron. We should be changing that paradigm.

[bucket]

I spent nearly a decade in the patch analyzing business deals and I can tell you honestly there is no company on the planet that would take the kind of risk ag does without a true backstop. We will never have one here so we need to think different.

My parents and grandparents all worked mixed farms. Not saying they were super successful anything, but they always had another income in case primary grain income failed. And it failed often.

That doesnt mean we have to load up on cows and chickens, but how many farmers own stock or ancillary businesses. My accountant says I should own stock in the ag companies. Expansion to most farmers always means more land and iron. We should be changing that paradigm.

Good and now you can start telling steelworkers they should have something other than EI backstopping them for an extended period....

How about we just let everyone stand on their own instead of governments buying pipelines or building them...

Better yet how about the Rider organization build their own stadium...

Or not build a stupid ****ing transportation hub in the middle of ****ing nowhere...and waste a billion building infrastructure into a failed venture....and then use the media to get farmers to use it ...idiotic. ..

And as I have said before other generations have had adhoc payments to keep their farms alive maybe even your parents and grandparents farm that allows you to farm today...

Just a little ignorant to forget some facts. ..because I find it hard to believe your parents didn't receive any adhoc payments

[farmaholic]

If primary grain production can't stand on it's own without outside support and I'm talking off farm jobs and other related enterprises...why ****en bother. I wonder how many other people's businesses have the same amount of capital invested, and risk taken, as in our farms have to flip ****en burgers somewhere to make ends meet. ****en greedy pricks taking too much for machinery and inputs and cheap bastards not paying up for what we produce. If we could keep more and get more money on both sides of that scenario we'd be better off. Weather issues is a whole different story and adequate risk management is paramount.

[fjlip]

" If we even got Trudeau's attention, he would just come out and lecture us on climate change."
Shit he might cry on my swaths and get them wetter!

Only subsidy in the 70's was $2/acre for SMF, Otto Lang, LIFT! 1CWRS was 60 cents a bushel and only a 4 bushel quota.
Oh but we had Western Grains Stabilization and two price wheat, SFA and a few cents more for domestic.

[MBgrower]

Same here, but the prospect of having a thousand acres to get off vs 8,000 is a different beast.

Here is a little known fact in farming. Risk rises exponentially with the size of your operation. A few BTOs around me learned that lesson in 2010 when all their lentil acres when for mush.

Here is another little know fact in farming. You will never get rich growing commodities. Paying big rent, big iron and big inputs and having no equity is a dead end. You will make a buck one year, then give it back the next. Commodities are a distinctly break even prospect. The value is in the land, period and honestly spinning your wheels on un-owned property is insanity.

Canada is the only modern country with the most mega farms. More farmers per acreage in EU and USA. Thats why they are supported.

I agree, the end game in grain farming is building up equity in land. Some BTOs that farm mostly rented land and aren't slowly buying land over the course of their career are just paying salaries for all the leaches

[bucket]

" If we even got Trudeau's attention, he would just come out and lecture us on climate change."
Shit he might cry on my swaths and get them wetter!

Only subsidy in the 70's was $2/acre for SMF, Otto Lang, LIFT! 1CWRS was 60 cents a bushel and only a 4 bushel quota.
Oh but we had Western Grains Stabilization and two price wheat, SFA and a few cents more for domestic.

2 dollars then would be 10 dollars today. ...