Not knowing more detail than what you've provided I'd say that, under these circumstances, your company should absolutely exit the industry and allow the larger and more efficient operators to fill the void. The fact is, agriculture today is dominated by large co-op's with tremendous efficiencies. We've had to do this to remain competitive. Unfortunately, the welfare you defend is used by these co-op's to undercut small and medium sized producers and, eventually, drive them out of business or buy their operations.
the every day farmer; who, unlike other businesses, has minimal control over the prices paid for product, absolutely no ability to pass along increased input costs to the buyer
Please, the plight of the poor farmer is hardly going to earn any sympathy when the average family farm has a household income 17% higher than the national average and a cost of living that is 10%-40% lower than urban areas. Farms fail at only one-sixth the rate of non-farm businesses, and only 4.5 percent of farms have enough debt to be considered vulnerable to bankruptcy.
I guess it's easier to blame others though, isn't it?
..all while watching the "value-added" purchasers of his product raking in the millions...do get back to me.
So, you're in the food business. So am I. Maybe you can show me which of these value added food manufacturers makes extraordinary profits and exactly what those margins are. I ask because it's well known that the American food industry is highly competitive and generates lower, yet consistent, margins when compared to other industries. When comparing net revenue as a percentage of sales for all industries, food manufacturers rank well below the national average. Food retailing and distribution are even lower. So, who's making all those obscene profits?
please do tell which "crops" Americans are supposed to focus on...
If the government would just get out of the way and stop interfering, the markets would sort this question out in very short order.
You might want to educate yourself about the industry that you are supposed to be in, before you throw around invectives. Our banker called back today to say that our numbers look "great"...and they do, comparatively. Those numbers are typical, not an anomaly.
The fact is, agriculture today is dominated by large co-op's
What? Where did you come up with that little gem? We are fairly large farmers, in "the" farm state...the land is being farmed by individual farmers.
We've had to do this to remain competitive.
"We" who? We are net exporters of most commodities. "We" have had to do this to be competitive with "whom?" You are assuming a "free" market, which we do not have. The Board of Trade is a ridiculous, outdated notion that serves as nothing but a price-fixing operation. It was useful when my Great-Grandpa traveled to Chicago to sell cattle for 50 or so farmers in our area...in 1910...before the had PHONES. Get rid of the Board of Trade; let us negotiate prices for our products with the buyers of our products...THEN you can get rid of subsidies.
I do have to be a little careful what I say in that regard, however. We have no shortage of greedy politicians and businessmen who would actually be so shortsighted as to trust our food supply to some third-world country. They've done it with oil, and that's really worked out well.
So, you're in the food business.
No, I'm in the "grow your food" business. I've spent years in the building materials manufacturing & distribution business. Every company I've worked for has had a 5% or less net profit margin...all were successful. All were able to sell their products on the open market, for a price which was, amazingly, not manipulated to be lower than production cost.
If food costs had kept up with wages and inflation....and if they were suddenly adjusted tomorrow...people would come unglued. To the extent that they have gone up, it certainly isn't the farmer who is benefiting. Our input costs have soared, our cost of living has soared, and we are being paid 1975 prices. To be sure, we have become more efficient, but cannot begin to offset this:
Some commodity charts from the 1970's through 1999.
http://www.ifbf.org/programs/commodity/pdf/eoa1.pdf#search='corn%20bushel%20price%201975'
I hope that I'll be able to purchase a new vehicle soon at the $5,000 sticker-price that prevailed back then.