Posted on 09/28/2016 9:02:11 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
In 2006, Chris Hausman, a fourth-generation Midwestern farmer long accustomed to depending on government support for survival, traveled across the world to witness a revolution in agriculture.
It had been more than 20 years since a left-leaning government in New Zealand chose to eliminate government subsidies for farmers, and Hausman was surprised at what had transpired since.
“I will tell you it was a shock to their agricultural system,” says Hausman, 58, who farms corn and soybeans on a 1,500-acre plot 150 miles south of Chicago.
“You had a system dictated by government programs that was thrown out the window overnight,” Hausman adds in a recent interview with The Daily Signal. “But the farmers kind of reinvented themselves and now New Zealand is a powerhouse when it comes to agricultural production on the world stage.”
Hausman, like others in the industry, is careful not to equate New Zealand’s experience with what could happen in the U.S. He is thankful for federally subsidized crop insurance that his government provides.
But those who participated in this small island nation’s grand farming experiment hold it up as a valuable case study for policymakers worldwide.
“Every country is different—that’s an important caveat to put on the conversation,” said Mike Petersen, New Zealand’s special agricultural trade envoy, during an event last week at The Heritage Foundation. “But what I can say is that we did start an incredible process of innovation, guts, and determination from those people who really wanted to make this work.”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
PING!
Ah, yes. My Country ‘tis of Thee
Sweet land of Subsidy...
bump
No no no. We need to protect our farmers industries, bureaucrats and jobs from foreign competition...
Yes, and sometimes it’s possible for them to work too good too.
What happens if there is no government oversight and one year everyone decides that corn is the best crop based on last year’s price?
This year most farmers spend their money on a corn crop. They put a lot of money into it, and when harvest time comes around, this is when everyone finds out.
This year the sales price of corn drops to 25% of what it was the previous year, because of an over abundance.
Overnight 40% of the farmers in the U. S. can’t get a decent price for their crop and they are bankrupt.
The next year, there are not corn crops. The price of corn skyrockets and supplies are not sufficient.
The next year, it starts all over, folks hoping to make a great profit off of corn since there’s a big need, based on the previous year.
If you have a solution to this, I’d be glad to hear it.
I admit I fudged the figure to make my point, but this argument isn’t without merit.
People are paid not to grow certain crops to avoid this.
Bookmark
Yes but agricultural subsidies is a good hedge.
The problem isn’t the ideas. The problem is the implementation by greedy politicians and bureaucrats.
And what if forty percent of that corn crop was NOT used for ethanol?
There would be the opportunity to reward family farms and create a disincentive for huge agri-businesses if you want to play that policy game.
But—corrupt politicians have figured out how to maximize their utility abusing the system while making your policy argument.
That is not a flaw in your argument—that is just the way the real world works.
Farmers are the biggest freeloaders in this country. Just look at the bills and you will puke of disgust.
Farmers do not exist in a vacuum. They actually talk to each other and they know a lot better then bureaucrats what grows well and what sells well.
Small farmers, who quite often are too small for the government to bother with, are perfect examples of what can be done. Somehow despite no government nanny running things farmers markets are filled with a variety of produce.
Not everyone is going to grow corn because not every place is good for growing corn.
And corn is not like lettuce, if you don't sell in one year you actually can hold it over until the next year.
The idea of "paying people not to grow something" is a hangover from FDR's stupidity and resulted in the last time American actually starved.
Government controls are actually what results in "boom bust cycles"
You see this in the dairy industry.
What if all manufacturers in the US decided tomorrow to make cellphones because there is so much money in them. The price of cellphones collapses, but we no longer have cars or airplanes or kitchen appliances.
Makes about as much sense...
Why would a soybean or wheat or potato farmer suddenly drop everything and switch to a new crop?
I do believe that govt subsidies over the long term are counter productive. But I also believe they should be phased in (over maybe 5 years); thus, giving farmers the ability to adjust. Remember the overwhelming majority of "farmers" are big corporations.
That's absolutely right, we do -- just not by subsidizing them.
Markets do not work good or bad. The have no conscience or morality. The function of a market is to allow for the exchange of goods and services. The exchange can be free, fair, rigged, profitable, or unprofitable.
Thats not unique to corn or anything else in the marketplace. Why are farmers given a pass on supply and demand economics?. Too much crops and too low a price is called a signal. It signals that some of you need to quit growing this crop or lower your costs. The market is sending the signal but our governemt keeps overiding it because farmers want to their gibmedats.
Look wjhat happens in oil and gas. Want to prop up the low prices in that market?
I'd like $230 million a year..
Some less than I make now...
I recall my Uncle Ed, an Oklahoma wheat farmer, "They say if they take away subsidies and allotments, we'll have $2 wheat. OK! All right! Let us plant fence line to fence line and I'll take $2 wheat!" The recollection is circa mid-fifties and, as I recall, the support price was around $2.80.
Big guy, I’m guessing you’re not a farmer.
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