Long Time....No Posts
We have been very busy. I have not had much time to spend on blogging. The garden continues to grow and Leah has been doing a lot of canning. The meat chicks are out on grass and enjoying the fresh air. Having raised them indoors, in my younger days, I can't believe how much happier and healthier they are outdoors. We have had a few cows freshen in. The calf barn is full of the nicest group of young stock we have had in a long while.......must be all those minus proof bulls I'm using. We still need rain. Everything is dead. Cows are eating a lot of hay that I had hoped to save for winter. There are even trees on the edge of the woods that are starting to die. Seems like its a drought or flood the last few years, no in between. The milk price is dropping and the heat has really started to decrease our production. We have some steers to kill soon and lots of food from the garden, so at least I won't be hungry, even if I'm broke.
Life Without Usury and Ian Hodge On Usury are well worth reading, over at the House of Degenhart. This subject is one that interests me (pun intended) a great deal and should be on the minds of all agrarians.
R. L. Dabney on Law and Lawyers
CAFTA: The New Race to the Floor .... I know its already a done deal, but this is worth reading.
If you think CAFTA is the "shafta", just wait for the FTAA.
I have said in the past that we should not sell our products for whatever the market will bare. It wouldn't be right to say, sell eggs for $5 a dozen just because we could. On the flip side of the coin, I wish hobby farmers would stop selling at a loss just because they are having fun. We have some yahoos out here that work a full time job and keep hobby farms to entertain themselves. Fine, more power to ya. Just don't drive me out of business selling your free range eggs for 75 cents a dozen. Those of us that have made the sacrifices required to try to scratch out living at this, are sick of being undercut by products subsidized by city jobs. If your goal is to someday be a real farmer, you'll never get there the way your going.
CRP is a fraud. I live in the middle of CRP country. You know, where the government pays you to let land grow up to weeds as long as you mow it by a certain date. My town is full of people who never ever intended to farm the land collecting huge checks to let it look like it would have anyway. First, they ain't conserving anything. All the CRP land I see is sparse, spotty, awful looking stuff that needs manure and compost on it. They are not doing the land any favors, or the wildlife. Number two, it drives up the rental price for land. The government pays people out here as much as $65 an acre for land that would rent for $15 an acre. A chunk of mediocre hill dirt cannot be farmed for $65. But they know they can get it from the FedGov so there is no need to rent it to farmer Brown for $15. Farmer Brown might make something of it...... but we all know MONEY is more important
posted by Scott M Terry @ 5:05 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I have no problem with people having city jobs while they start up a farm. Its very smart, really. BUT, I still think it is silly to sell at a loss. Farms must have profit to exist. I think that one is in a much better position to be a "full timer" if they start with the idea that their products must make a profit.
I think we agree more than we disagree on this subject, really. I'll be the first one to say start small and all that. I too started with off farm income. When I refer to "hobby farmers", I'm talking about a different class of people than you are I think. My point is just about basic economics. A person will get to the end of the race faster if they have off farm income and are making a profit on the product. It leaves more of the off farm income go toward the goal. Like it or not, selling something with the goal of covering feed costs and nothing more does hurt other people. Even doing it this way does not insure you a profit in the end, but will get things moving in the right direction.
We can disagree, its healthy. :)
Scott, I understand your frustration. As an accountant its painful for me to see how glibly some of these hobby farmers price their goods without any earthly idea of how much it actually cost them. You're right that the corporate job subsidizes this for many of them.
On the other hand, I don't think you can insist that they make a profit. If they want to give away eggs, that's theur business. If I can be so bold, I would say that our real beef is with our marketplace in general, not with these hobby farmers and transitional farmers. We should be encouraging everyone that is moving in the agrarian direction, and be patient with each other as we figure things out.
No small-time hobby farmer is really going to take as much of your business away as the agri-giants are - that's who is messing things up! Even if a hobby-farmer is subsidizing his prices with a corporate job, its literally a drop in the bucket compared to the subsidies given to conventional agri-business.
I agree Chad. It seems I could of have worded my "advice" a little better. I'm not known for being to diplomatic and people often take me the wrong wrong way. What bothers me is this. Becouse of the way I got into the milk business, selling a commodity, I have always been a slave to the market magicians and agri-giants. Alternitive ag has a chance to break from that system. You know that I'm not money hungry, but on the same token I'm sick of being a serf. Farmers in general start off with the presuppusition that they should work for nothing. Its bred into us, I think. What I'm saying is that farmers produce food, which is just as valuable, if not more, than computer chips or cars. I don't think its outlandish to think we should expect to be able to do more than break even. Direct marketing gives us that chance, but we have to take the chance and believe in our products and price them accordingly.
The great thing about farming is everyone can do there own thing and have their own ideas. These are mine. I have not ment to discourage anyone and hope that I haven't.
to be a voice of discord on the subject I have a question as to what constitutes a 'profit' as reformed farmer states, as well as 'pricing goods without any earthly idea of how much it actually cost them' from chad, How do you draw the line or define what a profit is or cost is, for a specific product using a combination of religious and/or business ideals. For one who takes the view that one needs to live right and the Lord will provide, than to use the example of the dozen eggs is it not fair to say the cost is only the grain? If one takes the view of render unto Ceaser what is Ceasers, than do you factor in property taxes on the square feet the chickens reside in? and if you take the business approach do you factor in the cost of your time in tending the chickens at a hourly rate including FICA? If your homesteading endeavour is to be lasting and self supporting how much profit do you need or justify towards that goal? (not trying to be a burr under the saddle here, just curious as to how and where you can draw the line, and how much of it comes down to kind of 'winging it' on hope and prayer (in a good way ;) ))
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