Schadenfreude thread about holidays

[Blaithin]

I would say that a large number of smaller farms are more profitable than larger farmers.

Larger farms may have scale and equipment to deal with that scale, but dollars to donuts the bank owns more of it that it does the small farms.

I also believe new farms are much more flexible to be profitable than a larger farm. Their hurdle is how to get in to farming, once there they have more options.

You can’t look at the size of a farm and know whether or not it would need subsidized. Many subsidies in other industries are to support employment. Tell me who generally needs more employees, small or large farms.

[WiltonRanch]

Chuck bemoans oil and gas getting subsidies but it’s ok for renewable energy. I personally have no issues with incentives if dollars put in has a multiplier effect on the economy as a whole. It’s a public good thing like arenas or swimming pools. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Cut all subsidies and incentives to everything, including job training grants, crop insurance top ups and funding to groups like the nfu.

[furrowtickler]

There are 4 large family farms around us , 14,000 to near 30,000 ac . They deserve any subsidy the same as us medium and smaller farms .

[furrowtickler]

Agree Blathin , there are many “smaller” farms that are very profitable and stable

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Chuck bemoans oil and gas getting subsidies but it’s ok for renewable energy. I personally have no issues with incentives if dollars put in has a multiplier effect on the economy as a whole. It’s a public good thing like arenas or swimming pools. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Cut all subsidies and incentives to everything, including job training grants, crop insurance top ups and funding to groups like the nfu.

Now them's fight'en words.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Any statistics I have seen indicate that the medium-sized farms are much more profitable than the large farms. However they happen to be defined.

[shtferbrains]

Any statistics I have seen indicate that the medium-sized farms are much more profitable than the large farms. However they happen to be defined.

Sometimes referred to as the sweet spot.

Sun-Setters who write a cheque from their account for cash inputs and have no depreciation left on their equipment. Have a crop unsold in the bin and one deferred.
Undisputed the most profitable per acre.
For sure have a few of them here. Possibly Chuck might be one?

Efficient family farms that have operated for generations where everyone contributes .
Hard to do with many failures?

The mega farms are seldom the most efficient.
But if the best have been doing $400 acre on 6000 acres and mega are doing $200 acre on 30000 acre it all works.

What happens when gross margin goes down $300?

[chuckChuck]

So which conservative politicians are running on lets cut supply management and subsidies to farmers?

Only Mad Max and the pretend libertarians. And he will get less than 2% of the vote so we know how popular he and his flakey libertarian ideas are.

If Monette farms is not as efficient or profitable, then why are we propping them up with subsidies that assist them in pushing smaller family farms out of business because they can't compete for overpriced land?

Surely those subsidies would have a greater multiplying effect going to more numerous smaller family farms in less profitable regions and sectors.

I know many of you are opposed to subsidies but you don't really walk the talk and are usually lined up yourself, like you did for CEBA. Plus you make no mention of ever cutting the subsidies and generous incentives to big oil.

Instead you complain about subsidies to industries you don't like. Its the Conservative way to pick winners and losers even though they pretend otherwise!

[AlbertaFarmer5]

So which conservative politicians are running on lets cut supply management and subsidies to farmers?

Exactly. We don't have any conservative politicians.
We have left and we have more left politicians.

But since when does the prevailing position of politicians reflect what is the correct thing to do, rather than the popular thing to do? Aren't you against populism?

[chuckChuck]

So why are you and many posters voting for the alleged "left wing" Conservatives again and again?

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Surely those subsidies would have a greater multiplying effect going to more numerous smaller family farms in less profitable regions and sectors.

Why are those the only two options?
Is it there another option to leave the tax dollars in the pockets of the taxpayers and businesses who paid the taxes and let them invest as they see fit? Wouldn't that have a greater multiplying effect then government choosing winners and losers?
Maybe the taxpayer who had their hard earned income taken away to subsidize another business would have otherwise invested that in their own business and be more efficient.