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 ...
Who knew ?
Have the farmers declare what they are planting. Then other farmers can see if one crop is being over planted and grow something else. If planting totals were declared the over/under planting of crops would be reflected in the futures market and farmers could adjust.
What you describe is indeed a part of every ‘farm bill’ that is considered to be a subsidy to farmers.
USDA record-keeping, estimates, and predictions are almost daily news in farm country.
Average poster here has no idea how much tax cash is paid to farmers not to grow or cultivate land
It’s amazing
I’m ambivalent
Average poster here has no idea how much tax cash is paid to farmers not to grow or cultivate land
It’s amazing
I’m ambivalent
Tobacco crops are still highly regulated
No one i know grows sans a govt allotment
Which is akin to a New York City taxi medallion
Pricey
You have very little idea about the farmer’s in this country...
Apparently, this boom and bust cycle wasn’t much of a problem in New Zealand, and if the US treated subsidy elimination like New Zealand did, then impoverished farmers on the low end of such a cycle would qualify for AFDC, food stamps, etc.
The problem isn’t the ideas. The problem is the implementation by greedy politicians and bureaucrats.
Federal subsidies for agriculture is not marxism. <— period, not even close and end of story and go back to grade school.
At one time I thought ethanol was a good idea. It and some of the other pie in the sky solutions to the ‘big oil/big satan/big energy’ sure didn’t pan out.
If corn wasn’t being used for ethanol, it would leave more in the market place to be sure.
Over supply has one result in the market place.
The value of the goods in over supply drops.
In general the government screws up everything it touches. This may in fact be another instance of that.
Food is different than just about any other product. We don’t want too little of it, but having an over abundance of it can also cause real problems.
If we have a shortage of lumber, shits, cars, toilet paper, and many other things, we’ll get by. If we have a shortage of food, some people won’t.
This is why I see the food supply as something that should be watched closely.
Are our political figures gaming this situation? It would be the first thing they haven’t if they weren’t.
When did I say family farmers were stupid? That one’s on you.
You seem to think I am belittling farmers. Think again.
I care about farmers or I wouldn’t be addressing this issue at all.
Do you remember this?
Pressures are on the family farms in America. I don’t want polices to be ripped out from under them. If it can be shown that withdrawing government land bank subsidies will be better for farmers, by all means remove them.
I’m not convinced of that, and I said so.
I’d rather do that than have everyone saying the same thing on the thread and not give it some thought now, in real time.
Providing real timely and lucid responses to me and explaining the reasoning behind them, would have served to educate our forum members.
It’s unfortunate so many decided not to do that, being experts and all.
I mentioned one crop, but it can happen on any crop.
Thanks.
Thank you for your comments and suggestions.
Perhaps that’s what farmers do.
I do know that during the late 70s and 80s, farmers really took it in the shorts.
I don’t want to see that happen again.
That is my emphasis here.
We can get along without oil, gas, and a multitude of other things.
We can’t get along without food.
Darn, and here I do it for free.
You know, part of the reason I address issues is to flesh them out.
You had an opportunity to inform and enlighten with your brilliance, and this was what you chose to do.
I recall the extreme negative pressures farmers were under in the late 70s and early 1980s. I don’t want to contribute to anything that might cause undo pressure on the family farmer, or our food supply
I would say that there is some truth in that.
There is also truth in an overall strategy to stabilize food production.
There have been plenty of voices saying the food bank program is flawed. I have tried to provide the opposite argument.
While I don’t generally want the government involved in much of anything, our food supply is something that I do think works better with a strategy, not just left to chance.
We have relatively few family farmers left in this nation.
I don’t want a well meaning cessation of farm subsidies to drive some of them over the edge.
Here was another time, when factors crept up to force a lot of families off their farms. I don’t want to see it again.
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