Posted on 02/27/2009 2:07:46 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
As our government enacts a stimulus package and President Barack 0bama announces bold initiatives to stem home mortgage foreclosures, disaster threatens family farmers and their communities.
The government's response to plummeting commodity prices and tightening credit markets leads to the basic question: Who will produce our food? This is a worldwide crisis. U.S. policy and the demand for deregulation at all levels -- from food production to financial markets -- contribute greatly to the global collapse. The solution must be grounded in food sovereignty so that all farmers and their communities can regain control over their food supply. This response makes sense here in Wisconsin and was the global message from the 500+ farmer leaders at the Via Campesina conference in Mozambique in October.
Many U.S. farmers are going out of business because they receive prices equal to about one half their cost to produce our food. How long could any enterprise receiving half the amount of its input costs stay in business? As an example, dairy farmers in the Northeast and Midwest must be paid between 30 and 35 cents per pound for their milk to pay production costs and provide basic living expenses. Until 1980, farmers received a price equal to 80 percent of parity, meaning that farmers' purchasing power kept up with the rest of the economy. Unfortunately, a 1981 political decision discontinued parity, and today the dairy farmers' share is below 40 percent.
"Free trade" and other regressive agricultural policies have decimated farms. We are now a food deficit nation dependent on food imports, often of questionable quality.
Our food system is nearly broke, which is almost as serious as our country's financial meltdown. With fair farm policies, farmers would get fair prices that would not require higher consumers prices. The Canadian dairy pricing system is the best example that proves fair farmer prices can and often do bring lower consumer prices and a healthier rural economy. In addition, excessive middleman profits are taking advantage of both consumers and producers.
As more farmers face bankruptcy, we all face a food emergency. European farmers speak from thousands of years of experience on the importance of family farms when they warn us, "Any time a country neglects its family farm base and allows it to become financially bankrupt, the entire economy of that country will soon collapse. It may take generations to rebuild the farm economy and that of the country."
Despite the magnitude of this food emergency, the "farm crisis" does not appear in headlines, so politicians are not compelled to provide political or financial assistance to something that would likely fail to bring votes. As farmers, we are now only about 1 percent of the U.S. population, and have little power to expose and prevent our demise. However, our urban and rural friends could be vital voices and advocates.
Bailing out the financial giants will not solve the financial crisis in the country, but the right policies and stimulus dollars could prevent a severe food crisis by saving farmers and workers. Furthermore, farm income dollars remain in and multiply at least two to four times in the local economy.
Family farmers have proposed fair food and farm policies that can be implemented at a fraction of the present multibillion-dollar policies destroying us. As the Treasury Department develops plans to distribute the bailout funds, the National Family Farm Coalition and others urge it to require banks receiving funds to treat their borrowers fairly by providing debt restructuring as an alternate to home or farm foreclosure or bankruptcy.
Concerned citizens can call the White House, 202-456-1111, or your members of Congress, 202-224-3121, to urge them to support policies that enable farmers to earn a fair market price; request an emergency milk price at $17.50 per hundred weight; provide price stability through government grain reserves and effective supply management; support the TRADE Act to be reintroduced in Congress; increase direct and guaranteed loans to family farmers; and ensure that the food we raise can be marketed to local schools and institutions, providing a better food supply at a fair price. We need these immediate changes in our food and farm policy.
(John Kinsman, a dairy farmer from La Valle, is president of Family Farm Defenders, based in Madison.)
what better excuse for martial law than food riots?
Even a few years ago, my cousin was only making money in 3 of 5 years growing corn. When this happens, at some point, the corporate farmers move in a buy up the land. The family farm is sadly going away.
Reminds me of the old Bloom County cartoon:
Senator Befellow: A farmer! A man of the earth! My heart bleeds for good folks like you. Going through hard times, are you?
Farmer: Nope, doin dandy.
Senator Bedfellow: Good! This is an excellent batch of corn you have here...
Farmer: 'Taint corn. It's dope.
Senator Bedfellow: Pardon?
Farmer: Here, take some home to the wife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0JWekEqFdM
Remember this old one? The cows are the Hippies and the Army comes in and saves the day, LOL!
I saw this one as a kid in the 60’s. It made perfect sense to me then, as it does now.
Farming is one long, never-ending nightmare for farmers.
The very best thing that can happen to a farmer is to have a bumper crop when all of his neighbors crops are wiped out. If everybody has a bad crop, farmers probably make more than if everybody has a good crop.
Many family farms have to be organized as corporations, and when their crops are finally sold, they may earn several million dollars, almost all of which immediately goes to paying off machine rental, seed, fertilizer, pesticide, labor, etc. With several million dollars gross, they are lucky to pull down $30k a year as their net income.
Then add on everything that can afflict farms and ruin their crops, as well as having one of the highest employment accident rates out there and it’s just amazing that more farmers don’t go starkers.
Oh, and I forgot to mention back breaking work and living out in the boonies.
We have our family farm in a Trust. But it’s going to be VERY interesting when Dad dies and his Oldest Son thinks he’s running the show.
The farm is split equally, legally between ALL of the adult children with two of us SILs as Executors.
I’m expecting a Battle Royale. Girding my loins, already. *Rolleyes*
You thought the book and movie ‘A Thousand Acres’ was a battle of wills? LOL!
Really? Tell me something new.
I’ve been ‘living the dream’ for 15 years now, LOL!
“The solution must be grounded in food sovereignty so that all farmers and their communities can regain control over their food supply.”
I like it. Get our food ‘local’ again. We’re human and yes, the USA has always had some food ‘quality’ problems...but they used to be ‘local’ and didn’t infest thousands in dozens of states before we knew it or get imported by some 3rd world cesspool where you have no recourse.
Bigger isn’t always better.
I saw a great bumpersticker.....”God bless America and the Farmer that feeds your fat a$$”...So true.
We need to ditch the codex alimentarius ASAP, to make our food supply safer again.
Soylent Green?
Thanks for this ping Diana.
And ccmay, that was my first thought when reading this.
Gardengirl, I received my seeds in the mail today (thank you so much). I am so excited, especially about the tomatos. I plan to have them in my miniature greenhouse tomorrow. I love that thing — have tons of seedlings sprouting now (it’s also cat proof now).
We used to have farmers coops here, and could buy veggies locally, but haven’t seen many in the past two years. I used to buy bushels of corn and green beans for canning and freezing. Any way I can I will support small farmers locally.
Teriaki chicken is sovereign in this home.
That's funny!!!!!
Hubby has my greenhouse half finished. He's building it out of the windows he just replaced at the Pastor's house. And I scored super big on a bunch of large planters and hanging planters from another house he worked on. One of those planters came complete with a huge rosemary!!!!!!
You've got that right.
That’s a great bumper sticker.
My husband has one on his truck.........ENDANGERED SPECIES: Farmers, Watermen, Rural Way of Life.
WOW -— you’re being really ambitious. Good luck to you.
I was going to put some peas in this afternoon, but when I went to get the seeds I couldn’t find most of my seeds -— hubby just said to me they must be in the bar. WOW, who’d a thunk it!!!!
I’ve got the land and time, so I might as well go for broke.
Now I just have to get them here, in the ground and keep the groundhogs and deer at bay.
I’m thinking I might end up with some protein out of the deal if things work out... =-)
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