Subsidies For Agriculture

[Muttley]

I agree it can take a natural disaster to bring up prices. What do we do when the drought is over and the prices fall again?

[ianben]

Yeah. Of course the disaster is better somwhere else and even then they dont seem to bring prices up like they old days. This global stuff always seems to find a bonanza some place to make up the shortage.

[ianben]

Sorry I did not read your reply properly
I thought you wrote "when the drought is over here"
Your question is crystal ball stuff and I cant tell the future.
However there isn't too much food just a shortage of people who can aford to buy it.
I also think most of the ones who can afford it, our countrymen, are paying too little. The percentage of their income spent on food is getting close to immoral.
Governments could tax food and pay subsidies but that seems unfashonable today with "free trade"
Then just look at steel!! 30% tarrif(a tax) to import into US.
Will NAFTA save Canada from this?
Figures I saw said you where biggest importer.

[cowman]

Canada and Mexico were excempt from the duty even though Canada outrageously subsidizes its steel industry. You see over here our government has no problem with subsidies...just as long as the industry is in Quebec or a Liberal cabinet ministers riding! I don't suppose you see any of that sort of thing in Britain, do you?

[pandiana]

Ianben: I agree 100% with your last posting. What to do about it? I would love to get into it further when I have more time.
Cowman: When do you sleep?

[cowman]

I sleep when I can! I'm up a lot at night as the calves are coming hot and heavy and the weather is slightly cool!
I'm one of those types who needs only about 5 hrs. sleep per day and I can fall asleep for 15 minutes whenever I choose. Also have never had an alarm clock...just think to myself how long I'll sleep and presto I'm awake! Too many years in the oil patch I guess chasing that elusive dollar!!

[jensco]

Cowman, can you teach me how to do that? I'm terrible, when the sheep are lambing I turn into a real grouch because my sleep is disrupted. ...Jensco

[cowman]

Wish I could. I think it's something you are born with or aquire early in life. I had a damned good teacher as my old Dad was on the go all the time!
I remember once he had me and this neighbor kid(we were both about 15) out in the hay field stacking bales. This was in the days when everything was small squares and they were all stooked behind the baler in 15 bale stooks. Anyway he was hauling in the stooks with a front end loader and we were making the stack. The hauls were getting longer so me and this guy jumped down off the stack to have a smoke! By the time he got back we had hastily stashed the cigarettes and were sort of laying there against the stack looking innocent. So he says"What do you guys think your doing?" I replied "Well it was sort of hot so we thought we'd have a little rest"
And then he said" You can rest when you are dead! As long as I am paying you get the hell back up on that stack!!"
So you see there was no slacking off when I was a young lad!
He also took great delight in getting me up at the crack of dawn to do some incredibly hard work if he suspected I had had a late night...especially if it involved some refreshment!!! He was a complete tea-totaller and took great delight in my miserable condition. He taught me a lot!

[ianben]

I sure think it is something you are born with. I sleep real well like a log for 7/8hrs a night and get grumpy if it is disturbed.
We had a guy worked for us once sounds like you cowman could doze off for 15mins anytime and did not seem to need more than a couple of hours in bed.
Made me feel inadaquate sure it must be in the genes.

[jensco]

I was afraid that might be the answer - oh, well!

Sounds like your Dad was quite the man and his son is the "chip off the old block".

Have a great day!

[corine]

To me, the best thing the gov't could do is butt out completely and by that I mean no more subsidies but as a trade-off we would go back to the pre-1959 days and have no income tax for farmers. Over the years I have found that subsidies received would equal income taxes paid (over a several year period). Things would be better around here if we didn't have to do all this stupid planning around taxes each year.

[cowman]

corine: Isn't that the truth! The most important consideration in just about every decision is the taxes. The whole damned western beef industry is run on taxes. When the federal government ended the 5 yr. average they made the biggest tax grab ever! How many people do you see feeding cattle who have no other choice? They know it is a loser but they are screwed by the tax system. Does this system really make economic sense in the big picture?

[corine]

Amen, Cowman. And just imagine not having to do all that lovely paperwork.