Future is in Agriculture

[Anonymous]

Soros old partner, Jim Rogers, says that farmers will be driving the Porsches and that the unemployed bankers will be working for them driving tractors...

He's investing in agriculture and ag land.....Wish he'd tell that skinflint banker of mine that... :wink:

Jim Rogers Buys Land, Starts Farming

03 Mar 2009 | 05:35 AM ET Text Size Commodities are still the best play for the long term, legendary investor Jim Rogers told CNBC, confessing that he has been buying farmland himself.

"We're still going to eat, probably; we're still going to wear clothes, probably. Farmers cannot get loans for fertilizers right now. So the supplies of everything are going to continue to be under pressure," Rogers said.



He is the director of two funds which are buying greenfield land in Brazil and existing farms in Canada and starting to farm it. The funds are clearing the land, fertilizing it, irrigating it and hiring farmers and, Rogers said, some day will probably sell the land but that is a remote prospect.

"If I'm right, agriculture is going to be one of the greatest industries in the next 20 years, 30 years."

Food inventories are at their lowest in 50 years, Rogers said, while the oil and mining sectors are also good bets.

"Even if demand goes flat or down, as it did in the 30s, as it did in the 70s, you can still have a nice market," he told CNBC.

Despite the recent rally, gold is still a good opportunity if investors choose the right time and way to get in, according to Rogers.

"I own some gold, of course I own some gold. If gold goes down, I'll buy more," he said. "The IMF is trying to sell their gold and if they do then they'll drive the price of gold down a lot. If they do … that'll be the last opportunity to buy gold in a long, long time."

"You can buy coins, you can buy the real stuff, you can buy ETFs and ETNs on the exchanges, you can buy mining companies if you know what you're doing…," he added.

Earlier this year, Rogers said he liked the Swiss franc and the yen but gave up the Swiss currency. "I stopped buying the Swiss franc when the Swiss (central) bank bailed out UBS. I still hold the yen."

Asked whether the current collapse in commodities prices worries him, he said: "You're supposed to buy when they're collapsing. I expect to own commodities for years, for a long time."

 

[pointrider]

Kinda goes along with all those "funds" buying all those big ranches in Northern Australia this year, doesn't it.

Will "funds" start buying large ranching properties in the U.S.?

 

[Anonymous]

Kinda goes along with all those "funds" buying all those big ranches in Northern Australia this year, doesn't it.

Will "funds" start buying large ranching properties in the U.S.?

Have been in our area for years...One group alone spent $25 million buying up ranchs in just our county and a couple neighboring counties over the last few years...

 

[pointrider]

Oldtimer, I believe the land being bought and developed in Brazil and Australia will be used for agriculture. What about your Montana ranches that have been bought out? Perhaps in the short term that land is now being used for "real agriculture", but Montana has a reputation for selling land for the ultimate purpose of reselling it again as hobby ranches to the rich and famous. What is your understanding of the long term goals for the group that has spent $25 million so far in your area? Perhaps you are not in the prime area for hobby ranches.

 

[Mike]

I think what Rogers was trying to say is that Zer0 is spending so much money that we'll be in hock up to our necks and the economy will take a long time to recover.

If you have a farm, at least you can eat............................

Or so he thinks. :lol:

 

[pointrider]

and what about the "funds" and those "funds properties?" If they end up really using the land for farms and ranches, how is that going to affect the way agriculture is "done" today? I have this gut feeling that they could cause the beef industry to do some leapfrogging in the area of normal consolidation where one rancher buys out another, and so on which can take a long time to consolidate an industry. They tend to look at things a different way than most farmers and ranchers.

 

[CattleCo]

If I were a city person, I would buy a small 5-10 acre deal that had water holding capacity( a ravine) and learn to plant a garden, shoot a deer and process it, and have a place to go when this whole deal goes to Hell I can feed my family! :wink:

 

[RobertMac]

Every none-farmer thinks they can farm...they know it is easy because all us dumb rednecks are doing it. :roll: :roll: :wink:

 

[burnt]

Every none-farmer thinks they can farm...they know it is easy because all us dumb rednecks are doing it. :roll: :roll: :wink

Either that or they ask why we keep on farming if it is so hard to make a living at it. Then I ask them how they like the idea of decisions about the production of their food being made in the office of a corporation that controls thousands of acres with no motivation other than profit.

 

[Anonymous]

Oldtimer, I believe the land being bought and developed in Brazil and Australia will be used for agriculture. What about your Montana ranches that have been bought out? Perhaps in the short term that land is now being used for "real agriculture", but Montana has a reputation for selling land for the ultimate purpose of reselling it again as hobby ranches to the rich and famous. What is your understanding of the long term goals for the group that has spent $25 million so far in your area? Perhaps you are not in the prime area for hobby ranches.

Not much hobby ranching or ranchettes in this part of the country...We're in the Great American Desert where its 30 Below in the winter and 100 and dry as a bone in the summer...Most don't want our country- they want the mountains and the trees...Ironically- many of the registered cow outfits that for years operated in the western part of the state in the mountains, have sold out for big $ to developers- and moved to our area to keep breeding their herds...

Currently the majority of the land being bought up by the big money groups is being leased out totally or partially for Ag use...Some are using portions or all for hunting preserves- but still leasing out portions to other ranchers and in production...Some have ranch managers running the place on a lease basis- leaving portions of crops/grasslands/wetlands for wildlife/hunting...
They are also playing all the conservation games- the Ducks Unlimited money, wet lands money, EQUIP grants, CRP, Carbon credits, etc, etc, -- which I've been told by a major USDA-ASCS official will be the Ag subsidies of the future- as the direct payments will be done away with to comply with the WTO and trade agreements...

Maybe these guys saw the handwriting on the wall- and the bust that was coming- and felt their money was better invested into land.....

 

[PORKER]

G8 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting
Meeting

Non of these clowns can farm and Ranch !!!!!!!!!!!!


The Province of Treviso will be hosting the first G8 Agriculture Summit from 18 to 20 April. Not much hobby ranching or ranchettes in this part of the country...

In addition to the eight major countries' ministers, the Czech Republic's agriculture minister, in the capacity of EU Council duty president, EU Agriculture Commissioner Marianne Fischer Boel and the Brazilian, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, South African, Egyptian, Australian, Argentinian agriculture ministers will also be attending. Invitations have been extended as well to the FAO, WFP (World Food Programme), IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development), World Bank, High-Level Task Force on Food Security, African Union and OECD leaderships.

A final statement on world food safety was approved at the 2008 G8 Summit in Japan. The G8 leaders acknowledged the grave problem caused by rising agricultural commodity prices and called on the agriculture ministers to draw up concrete proposals on world food security.

The G8 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting aims to identify a joint strategy for containing spiralling prices and limiting the impact of future world food crises.

Conditions on the world agricultural commodity markets have changed considerably since the summer of 2008: the international recession and lower oil prices have halted the increase in agricultural commodities. Nevertheless, the international community, the United Nations agencies and the main research and statistics centres estimate that the launch of a fresh cycle of economic recovery may trigger a further rise in food commodity prices, creating serious problems in medium- to low-income countries, and dangerous inflationary trends in the more developed countries as well.

A working paper that will set out the drives on which the various governments will have to embark, in close liaison with the United Nations agencies concerned and the World Bank, is almost completely drawn up with a view to restoring farm produce to the centre of economic policy strategies, countering speculative phenomena, enhancing the production chains and boosting investment in the low-income areas.Food inventories are at their lowest in 50 years, Rogers said, while the oil and mining sectors are also good bets.

The Italian G8 Presidency also intends to back the formation of a Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food Security, which is a scheme to coordinate the organisations and players working to fight hunger and poverty, as Foreign Affairs Under Secretary Vincenzo Scotti also emphasised at the High-Level Meeting on Food Security held in Madrid on 26 and 27 January this year.


Agenda

The provisional agenda features working sessions commencing on Saturday, 18 April in G8 formation and extending to take in the other players on Sunday, 19 and Monday, 20 April.

Accreditation

Journalists, photographers and TV crews interested in tracking the meeting can apply for accreditation by filling in the registration form in the "Press and Accreditation" section of the following website: www.g8agricultureministersmeeting.mipaaf.com. The form must be accompanied by a photograph and a letter from the editor-in-chief of the media represented, both in digital format. Applications must be submitted before 1600 GMT on Tuesday 14 April 2009.

Media representatives and journalists requiring an entry visa in order to enter Italy must submit a visa application as soon as possible to the appropriate Italian Embassy or Consulate with responsibility for their country. In addition to all of the documentation normally required when applying for a visa, application forms must also be accompanied in this instance by a hardcopy receipt of the online application for accreditation. For further information on media accreditation, please consult the following website: www.g8agricultureministersmeeting.mipaaf.com

 

[allen57]

Soros old partner, Jim Rogers, says that farmers will be driving the Porsches and that the unemployed bankers will be working for them driving tractors...

He's investing in agriculture and ag land.....Wish he'd tell that skinflint banker of mine that... :wink:

Jim Rogers Buys Land, Starts Farming

03 Mar 2009 | 05:35 AM ET Text Size Commodities are still the best play for the long term, legendary investor Jim Rogers told CNBC, confessing that he has been buying farmland himself.

"We're still going to eat, probably; we're still going to wear clothes, probably. Farmers cannot get loans for fertilizers right now. So the supplies of everything are going to continue to be under pressure," Rogers said.



He is the director of two funds which are buying greenfield land in Brazil and existing farms in Canada and starting to farm it. The funds are clearing the land, fertilizing it, irrigating it and hiring farmers and, Rogers said, some day will probably sell the land but that is a remote prospect.

"If I'm right, agriculture is going to be one of the greatest industries in the next 20 years, 30 years."

Food inventories are at their lowest in 50 years, Rogers said, while the oil and mining sectors are also good bets.

"Even if demand goes flat or down, as it did in the 30s, as it did in the 70s, you can still have a nice market," he told CNBC.

Despite the recent rally, gold is still a good opportunity if investors choose the right time and way to get in, according to Rogers.

"I own some gold, of course I own some gold. If gold goes down, I'll buy more," he said. "The IMF is trying to sell their gold and if they do then they'll drive the price of gold down a lot. If they do … that'll be the last opportunity to buy gold in a long, long time."

"You can buy coins, you can buy the real stuff, you can buy ETFs and ETNs on the exchanges, you can buy mining companies if you know what you're doing…," he added.

Earlier this year, Rogers said he liked the Swiss franc and the yen but gave up the Swiss currency. "I stopped buying the Swiss franc when the Swiss (central) bank bailed out UBS. I still hold the yen."

Asked whether the current collapse in commodities prices worries him, he said: "You're supposed to buy when they're collapsing. I expect to own commodities for years, for a long time."

Notice, he is buying land in Brazil and Canada, not the USA. He is right about food sources drying up. Is he expecting us to be importing more than we are allowed to produce? (Think oil) Is he looking at cheaper labor? Or is he betting the eco-nuts are about to throw the American farmer under their wagon wheels?

Jim said, "If I'm right, agriculture is going to be one of the greatest industries in the next 20 years, 30 years."

Probably pretty good insight, but will the American farmer be allowed to participate?