farm program

If LDP for corn and such is still at the same levels, what is the sense in messing with the farm programs now?

You still get direct payments and the way things have been falling the last week who's to say we won't be below LDP levels in the next month.

If you don't mess with them you won't be in line if any new programs come up.

Yeah, I know what you are saying but LDP is still $1.96 on corn. If it gets this low, will we even need it?

Well..... We'd take it, at that point. Probably beyond needing it.

--->Paul

Our brainchildren running the gov't on ag issues, not congress or bush but cargill and ADM, really messed up farming maybe worse than ever. Now with production costs where they are $4.50 + corn is the new $1.90.
We are in for another early 80's

I don't rember much of the early 80's, I'm only 30. Heard alot of the stories, got some family who made it through and some that did not. Been try'n hard to cover my rear the last few years and not get caught up in the whirl wind. I just hope to make it through till the next boom, I think this'ns bout over.

Dave

I was not real old, but went to all the farm auctions with dad in the '80s.

Was something.

We are set up for it again. Back then it was too much credit to farmers who couldn't afford it. Govt then did things to lower the price of food. Boom.

This time farm credit is fairly in check but; rapidly ratcheting input costs will not drop in time to help falling grain prices, and catch a lot of large producers in the cross hairs.

Different deal, but same outcome.

--->Paul

Yeah, the auctions. That and the consolidations from a big farm being 300-400 acres to 3-4000 acres. With the input costs now, one drought like 1988 and there will be half as many farmers.

One program I am going to try to get into this fall is the filter strips along creeks. My farm has big creeks on two sides and one right trough the middle of it. With what they are paying now for filter strips it pays $17 acre a year more than the payment price on the tillable ground. I can't get it all in but every acre I put in is one I know I can make payment on the next ten years. Every acre I am not out $400 for seed, fert, and spray (this years number for corn, ain't put a pencil to next year.) The creeks need clean'n up so if I have the filter strips I can work on it in the summers.

From the talk on some of the other forums, the USDA is WAY off the mark on this crop and with every thing flat and wet across a wide strip of the country, maybe prices will jump back up but NH3 is probably not going to slip any.

Just wish I had been old enough to jump on the chicken band wagon 12 years ago when you could get money to put up 8 broiler houses with 10 free and clear acres down. While most are not paid off like they were thinking they would when they signed a 10 year note on them most have re-fied the last 5 years to get the payments down to where they are make'n a good live'n. Alot of chicken growers round here would be happy if they did just broke even on the chickens, even those that don't farm too are make'n as much or more money off sell'n the litter and composted birds, who'da thunked it.

Good luck.

Dave