Re: Re: falling old equipment values

Posted by Paul in Mich on April 15, 2004 at 05:53:14 from (68.188.227.110):

In Reply to: Re: falling old equipment values posted by TomR Ont. on April 15, 2004 at 00:04:01:

Tom, In the U.S., We can't legally use our own saved seed from GMO grown crops. Monsanto has proprieitary rights on the use of Round-up ready seed, and we are required to buy certified seed. I'm sure that that doesnt stop some farmers from cheating somewhat, but if they get caught, there is a stiff penalty for patent infringement. I'm sure that at some date in the not so distant future that there will be ways to identify legal and illegal produced seed. Agriculture is not the only industry that protects patents. The soft drink industry has done it from its inception. Try adding a little table salt to carbonated water and calling it Canada Dry Club Soda, and see if its worth not paying $100.00 a pound for their patented salt. Maybe selling potato chips is more profitable than growing potatoes. If it is, then there is nothing stopping anyone from going into the potato chip business. There are ways farmers can make money in todays business climate, but he must be a business man, and if not willing or able to become big enough to be self supporting, be willing to supplememt his farm income with an outside job. I have a good friend who with his two sons farm between 1,500 and 2.000 acres. Both sons have outside, full time jobs which supplements not only their income, but provide health insurance. It makes for a long day at peak times, but three families live quite well. Huge corporate farms can be a threat if allowed to be, but they face the same perils and pit falls that other farmers face. If they pool their resources, its because they learned it from small farmers. Small farmers have been co-oping for as long as I can remember. Here in central Michigan, farmers have co-op ownership of the sugar beet processing factory to their benefit whereas the corporate factory was going bankrupt. As to corporate canneries controling the growing aspect of the industry, there are many farmers who benefit from either contracting their crops at a certain predetermined price thereby reducing the risk of crop failure or market price drops, or I know some who benefit by renting ground to Green Giant or Stokleys for early june peas, and then have that same ground to plant corn or soy beans the same year. Farming is indeed a tough business, and it takes a tough business man to be successful, but all is not bleak. Years ago I had a friend who sold crop insurance to farmers. He pulled up into a farmers driveway in a Buick Roadmaster. The farmer who must have had a bad day asked "How's come you get to drive around in a Buick Roadmaster, and wear a neck-tie all day and we farmers have to shovel cow manure all day"? My friend being quick witted replied, "because farmers make more money". Thats all that farmer needed to hear. A couple of cups of coffee later and the farmer had his crop insurance.

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