Agriculture 1984, 1994 to 2004

[boone]

cowman: multi-nationals can farm all right but they can't vote (yet) so governments pander to them for three years and the electorate for one year every political cycle. The trick is to bring them (multi) to bare when the time is in the peoples favour. I too have been taking stock in my community and it is going to be another hard winter of attrition. We won't have to worry about political landscape soon it will be a desert. I'm moved to record it as Steinbeck did. New Wrath same old G****s. Any way "LIFE is Either a DARING ADVENTURE or Nothing"-Helen Keller

[cowman]

Boone I like that "winter of attrition". That is definitely a good description of what is happening. If our pool of farmers was perhaps twenty years younger they might put up a better fight. It is discouraging to see our small towns dying and our rural population either dying or moving away. Sort of like the bumper stickers you used to see around "Would the last one out of Saskatchewan, please turn off the lights".
There is no solution really. Our governments just let things slide for too long. No real public support like there is in Europe. We are like the last free Indians about to be sent to the reserve. I guess that is progress?

[enough]

Indians should never have been put on the reserve. If farmers took better care of nature they would not be in this problem now. All they do is **** the land and scare wildlife and want me and other taxpayers to bail them out.

[cowman]

How would you know if I **** the land? You probably spend two weeks a year camping in some little camp ground and think you know something about the land. Who the hell do you think feeds all that wildlife? Well I do, not you. And no one pays me for it. So I guess until you get out your check book and pay me it really isn't your wildlife anyway?
You need to educate yourself about the facts of the food you eat. You are pretty ignorant about the whole process.
Get a job? Hell, I've had a job just about all my life besides farming. My taxes go for all your "subsidies" like UI, CPP, Workmans comp., welfare, municipal infrastructure, and most importantly cheap food!
Bitch like hell when you have to pay $10 for a steak while you think nothing of buying a $50,000 motorhome so you can be one with "nature"! You don't have a clue.

[farmerfudd]

affimativly said cowman.chances are "enough" has been motivated by groups like peta and such.

[ivbinconned]

O come on cowman...you give Enough to much credit. He isn't old enough to drive a motorhome and besides it would use to much gas. Nor would he have the time...he is to busy watching the SUBSIDIZED CBC.

[countryguy]

From Countryguy's dictionary:

"Raping the Land"

Definition:Aquiring land that was previously used to produce food and support wildlife and covering it with asphalt and cement for the purpose of constructing houses and shopping centers on it and be void of sustaining any kind of life until the end of time.

[Muttley]

Holy Crap Batman!!! Where are you from enough. I just made a posting on your post in Beef. Go check it out, you'll see what I think of you.
I usually don't condemn users on this site but you are just what I needed to vent on in the start of 2004.
You got our farming blood a pumping, and I do realize you are entitled to your opinion. It's just that it stinks!!

[ianben]

Muttley

Big changes here in UK too both personnel and national.

Lots leave the industry every year 25,000 again last year 30,000 year before. Lots of older farmers still farming though very few younger guys coming in.

Like Cowman we have lots of lifestyle farmers and they do provide income and oppertunities.
We also had a very large dairy producer leave the sector stating unable to compete with family labour and lifstyle subsidies.
I am not so sure about multi-nationals taking over. Can they really stand the risk of drought and BSE etc.

Why have they not taken over already?

The investment needed to have any sort of control over price is massive and then the labour has to be so flexible and co-operative that I think unless are able to control climate some parts of agriculure will always be left to individuals.

Personnally I used to be a farmer. 90% of my income came from the farm and 100% from AGRICULTURE.

Now I try to spread my sources of income.
I have rented out buildings to non agricultural clients( Rugs and fireworks) RETAIL
I encourage telecommunication masts we have three TELECOMS
Hay and straw to horses
LEISURE
Crops for fuel
ENERGY
Off farm jobs
MARKETING

Now I couldnt live from any one of these but year on year I get quite a good living.
Neither am I dependant on one sector of the ecconamy. Was a job at Enron any different from BSE?

I would not want my children to be farmers but I believe they could farm for part of their income.

[cowman]

Ian: Multinationals have not taken over the basic production because they have idiots who will produce for less than anything they could come up with. So instead they control the inputs and the output and rake off the cream at both ends.
Unfortunately for them they have been a little bit too greedy(at least in Canada) and have got themselves in a situation where the farms are crumbling. No new blood means the end of the gravy train for them! I think the average age of farmers is around 58 and getting older! Not very many young guys have a couple of million to get started and besides who wants to work for peanuts? And be vilified as public leeches?
So farming is a dirty deal but someone has to do it...and in the end I guess that leaves the big companies. The peasants will still be out there plowing around...only now they will be poorly paid employees instead of poorly paid owners.

[Muttley]

Costs of production is certainly going to be something that will make a difference in the future. Even now it is extremely important.
There is more than one price for a product now days as is. I don't farm much land anymore so am not getting any bargains at the chemical and fertilizer stores. For instance this past spring I went to buy chemical for doing a kill on some old grassland. My friend who farms 10,000 acres told me to buy it through him at much less. He was right my cost through him was over 10.00 a jug or 1.00 per acre cheaper. This same retailer would not sell the chemical in my name for that price only to my friend.
True story, goes to show that the bigger the buyers the bigger the savings. Picture this whole scenario out on a whole farm basis.

[enough]

Muttley , my ideas may stink to you but are the ideas of the majority.