The CFBMC website had the following CBC editorial by Norman Dunn:
The eventual EU aim is world market prices for farm produce. This means support is progressively decreasing and most European governments are busy searching for new income sources for their farmers.
Finding alternatives is tough. Contracting with existing machinery and labour was always a popular option. But many small-scale contractors are finding they no longer have the right size of
machinery, nor the huge amounts of capital needed for reinvestment
in new models.
Other popular alternative earners for farmers in northern Europe have been specialty crops. Back in the 80s, people got very excited about plants like borage or evening primrose offering harvests of
high-price pharmaceutical oils. It was true that a contract could earn over C$800 per acre. What didn't make the headlines so often
was that around 1000 acres of each crop was enough to supply half
of Europe. Oversupply was pre-programmed.
The same applies to herbs. Basil, thyme or oregano produce well in sheltered fields all over middle Europe. But the new growers soon found that the market was very choosy indeed about the quality of the stuff it sprinkled on its pizzas.
Some areas of Europe still look after their smaller farmers better than others, though. In Bavaria for instance, there are 140,000 farms and nearly half of them are very small 75 acres or less. When a plan was floated there to give farmers an alternative source of income by giving them basic computer training, the local government stepped in with $3.5 million in funding. Surprisingly, EU bureaucrats set aside their love of red tape for once and quickly anted up a similar amount. That allowed officials to offer a 500-hour course that farmers could take in their spare time, would cost them just $2 an hour and end in
a professional qualification. The result is that hundreds of farmers are getting a new chance of good earnings without leaving the farm - and it looks like it will be a long time before this new market is oversupplied!
_______________
How could things like that work over here? What sort of shift would have to occur to allow for this trend? What about early retirement for producers? In many other sectors, that is a goal that is strived for. What makes it so bad in primary production?
The eventual EU aim is world market prices for farm produce. This means support is progressively decreasing and most European governments are busy searching for new income sources for their farmers.
Finding alternatives is tough. Contracting with existing machinery and labour was always a popular option. But many small-scale contractors are finding they no longer have the right size of
machinery, nor the huge amounts of capital needed for reinvestment
in new models.
Other popular alternative earners for farmers in northern Europe have been specialty crops. Back in the 80s, people got very excited about plants like borage or evening primrose offering harvests of
high-price pharmaceutical oils. It was true that a contract could earn over C$800 per acre. What didn't make the headlines so often
was that around 1000 acres of each crop was enough to supply half
of Europe. Oversupply was pre-programmed.
The same applies to herbs. Basil, thyme or oregano produce well in sheltered fields all over middle Europe. But the new growers soon found that the market was very choosy indeed about the quality of the stuff it sprinkled on its pizzas.
Some areas of Europe still look after their smaller farmers better than others, though. In Bavaria for instance, there are 140,000 farms and nearly half of them are very small 75 acres or less. When a plan was floated there to give farmers an alternative source of income by giving them basic computer training, the local government stepped in with $3.5 million in funding. Surprisingly, EU bureaucrats set aside their love of red tape for once and quickly anted up a similar amount. That allowed officials to offer a 500-hour course that farmers could take in their spare time, would cost them just $2 an hour and end in
a professional qualification. The result is that hundreds of farmers are getting a new chance of good earnings without leaving the farm - and it looks like it will be a long time before this new market is oversupplied!
_______________
How could things like that work over here? What sort of shift would have to occur to allow for this trend? What about early retirement for producers? In many other sectors, that is a goal that is strived for. What makes it so bad in primary production?
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