August 5

[rockpile]

Cotton, are you familiar with Fareed Zakaria's book - The Post American World? It's a good read and perhaps offers a glimpse into the global redistribution of wealth, resources, and power. I'm not quite as pessimistic as you and what I see happening is a separation away from the wealth speculators of old to empowering the wealth innovators and generators of new. This correction was long over due, if you believe in a 'Free Market System'. This week, new regulations were imposed on energy traders in the US to reduce the possibility of certain parties consuming positions on commodity markets so that they could no longer control paper supply/demand ratios. We need the same thing in Agriculture. Let me put my perspective in this light. I would far soon see a heart surgeon who performed 300 surgeries and saved 250 lives get paid $10 million per year than some hockey player who scored 32 goals last season. We need to press the reset button on basic Adam Smith and restart economic practice or it'll become Orwell's 1984. Nowhere is the need more apparent than in Agriculture. Since it is not happening in the private marketplace, may I suggest that someone needs to step up and start a compreshensive, producer driven, all inclusive ag co-operative, for the farmer, by the farmer. I would suggest that it would include ALL commodities, bulk input purchasing, marketing, crop insurance and income stabilization. And of course, to succeed, it would have to be voluntary. In other words folks, take control of your destiny into your own hands, and quit bitching for government/taxpayer subsidies to survive.
Rockpile

[cottonpicken]

Sorry for getting crusty,your writing stile reminded me of someone,and i was in a mood.Cant keep Mr.Hyde pinned down all the time.

[cottonpicken]

I havent read the book,sounds good.


I dont think the us will go down without a fight.

[jensend]

i read the book last fall. i think his position is that the us has lost the fight already because it no longer has an innovative free enterprise economy so the world will move on. the title seems to suggest that we're already in to the post-american world.

[checking]

Rockpile, the process to develop that agricultural body you long for would be so frustratingly drawn out that the decision would never be made to proceed by the group. There are farmers out there that believe that the process is far more important than the possible end result. You know that no two farmers off the street are capable of agreeing with one another. One or more of the deadly sins would thwart such an organization from forming. Think smaller, because it is true that even in your neighbourhood you could find a partnership with a local who has your attitude that even if this doesn't succeed, what have I lost by trying.