If you look over here once in a while you know that I have a job, and I own a farm. In 1922 the first socialist program was passed into law, it says if you are a farmer the soviet, no I mean the people of the US will just give you money for showing up. Wow. For almost 100 years the farm bill, or crop support or agricultural bill, or rural what ever bill, the name changes more often than Romney's past, has grown, it has never gotten smaller in any year so far as I know.
Now if you come to Kansas, and I bet it's the same all over, drive out to one of these ghost town farming communities with one cafe about all that's left of main street be prepared to walk into a hornets nest of seed branded ball caps bitch'in about welfare mothers, and people that won't work. But, you might ask, why aren't you guys working, or aren't you guys getting a form of welfare. At this point either the room goes quiet, or it explodes. See, these guys do not want to hear about socialism out here, they want to focus on socialism over there, in the cities, in the universities, in DC.
For the grain farmers in the great plains states, the hard work of grandpa's days are forgotten. Hugh powerful tractors with gps, tv, airconditioning, cd's, cushy air ride seats, wi-fi, all that has rendered farming a part time job. Only a few days are needed a few times prior to planting, again at planting, then again at harvest. And many don't live on the farm, and there are all kinds of services now, the co-op can send out specialized vehicles to spread chemicals, there are companies around that will do the planting, and combines cost so much most farmers hire that service too. So, what do we do? Not fucking much. But yesterday I got notice all of you sent me money, just for being out here you sent me money Hell grain prices are high as the tits on a mountain goat and still you kept that socialism going. I guess when it was set up farmers were failing, starving, and that could come again one day when we finally pump out all our water and salt the land with chemicals till nothing much will grow in the heat, then maybe it would make sense, but right now it's like the wars, it's a gift to a voting block. What really sucks is these subsides support grain, sugar, and milk instead of fruit or vegi and nut growers. The subsidies promote a fat lifestyle. Some goes to bread, but most grain ends up as high fructose sugar, junk food, fuel, meat, or export, it's a shame taxpayers pay farmers a bonus for these (mostly) unsustainable ends.
Now we hear that this special committee in DC is working in the Senate to cut support for farmers, but the news is the cuts will be on foodstamps not on subsides. There you go, just what you hear about in the cafe, fucking people on welfare that won't work, now put a dollar on the counter and run for your car, back to the city. See you at the counter occupy wallstreet protest, we'll spit on the middle class.
You're welcome. Don't spend it all in one place.
ReplyDeleteSquatlo,
ReplyDeleteIt's a little bitty farm, if I spend it all with one hardware store it wouldn't change the profits for the week.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlta,
ReplyDeleteWelcome, I think you had a comment but we didn't get the benefit of it, maybe you'll come back.
Fringe -
ReplyDeleteWith apologies to George Gershwin:
Nice work if you can get it
And now that you've got it
Won't you tell me how
Where to start? You haven't a clue about farming if what you describe in your dream above is what you believe. For most of us cash croppers, it's 5AM to 11PM most days during planting, harvest and most times in between. Irrigation, machinery repair, pest & weed control and trying to stay afloat financially are what takes up the time. After and during harvest, more machinery repair, purchasing seed, fertilizer and fuel for the next year to try o make it as cost effective as possible. When it's time to retire, everyone but us wants to tell us what we can do with our land and assets. Yeah...we farmers have the world by the ass, don't we?
ReplyDeleteSorry Zeus, but I am from a family of farmers, and there are many weeks free for trips, vacations, hell 1/4 of the neighbors are snow birds, spending winter in the south. If you farm winter wheat what do you do from June to September, lets see, grease the spring tooth, grease the disc, replace the lift cylinder on the drill, grease it. Call John Deere to send a guy to fix a flat on the tractor. Then what do you do from Nov. to June? I have a center pivot and well permited for 610gpm 14 acre inches. This year was soybeans, turned it on from remote control. The well, the underground electrics, the pivot, hasn't been more than a few hours work the last few years, a cousin drops by once a week and tops off the diesel tank. So this year was soybeans, there's a company that will plant them for damn near nothing, so other than disking the thing at 6 miles per hour we set back and watched em grow, oh I missed purchasing seed, that was a phone call and the planter guy picked them up. Then the coop sent out the spider truck and sprayed poison all over the god damn country, and we watched em grow more. Hired a custom cutter when they were ready for the bin, sold em at almost 12. Do the math, I made a lot of money by the hour I put into it, better than a lawyer.
ReplyDeleteNow Zeus, we got out of the cattle years ago, that was a lot of work but my father-in-law got pissed about the hormones and the meds and said the meat wasn't fit to eat and we shouldn't be part of this. I know there are lots of crops and critters that are lots and lots of work, but now days, there is a sweet spot, a right size where farming cereal grain is not much work. We have a quarter section, if it was larger, I guess we would need to repair more, work more. But I have cousins that do have several sections, and I can tell you they roam all over the country, they have lots of time off. This is new, they didn't have it like that a few years ago, disc was 8' wide when I was a kid, now we see spring tooth tillers 36', at 6 mile per hour or about 4.5 acre every 10 minutes.
Now Zeus, I note that you say cash croppers. Why don't you change to share 3/5's to cut your risks?
Zeus, wait a minute, you say cash cropper, around here that means you don't own it but pay flat fee to farm it, then you say everyone wants to tell you what to do with your land, so I'm confused if you own or contract farm or both. Anyhow, who is telling you what to do with your land. No one is telling us what to do unless you mean I can't build a tower there without permit, pump more than 14" out of the communal water table, or keep tigers, or grow pot.
ReplyDeleteOh, direct deposit of that welfare check, that was sweet wasn't it. I need to find that web site and post it, there is a site you can look up what every farmer in the nation gets for welfare.
ah mr fringe - you always enlighten me (and depress me) with your insight to the farming world.
ReplyDeleteice
To beat this dead horse further, the newspaper this morning said Kansas farmers expenditures are down 2.4%. However, up 38% since 2005. What does this mean. Since things like tractors went up 28%, and 28% for land rent, chemicals and fuel went up too, yet 2.4% decline. Hard to figure.
ReplyDeleteI'll guess at it. The drought meant much of the state didn't have a reason to spray poisons from ditch to ditch this year, the shit was dead already from global warming. Livestock and poultry is becoming a factory operation, they have economy of scale so every year we have fewer farmers buying fence, and chicken feed, and hog birth'n pens. Plus when fuel and chemicals get high, some farmers are smart enough to cut back on driving every day past the south 40.
28% jump in rent is reflective of land prices, up 30% here the last couple of years, some areas report 40%. Grain prices are high, grain reserves low, drought killed lots of crops, speculators are running up futures and every swinging pud with a million bucks wants to rush out and buy a chunk of farm land to get in on it. Corporations too are in the market. Farm land may be headed for a housing bubble type fall in the next few years, leaving some country bankers hung out to dry, and some buyers owning more than the dust is worth.
Fringe,
ReplyDeleteWhat I know about farming you could stick in a pea pod with room left over so I'll just take your word for how things run. I do know that there's a lot of money to made in raising a crop of subsidies though - and I seem to recall times when farmers were paid to NOT grow crops.