IT REALLY IS THIS SIMPLE

[HAY MAKER]

In McDonnell's opinion the most important issue facing U.S. cow-calf producers is how trade liberalization is addressed. He said, under the current agenda, within two years the U.S. will have a free trade agreement with every major beef-producing nation and not a single one with a major beef-consuming nation.



"No industry can survive that level of exposure," he warned. "R-CALF has often been labeled a 'protectionist' group. I'm more concerned about the 'destructionist' whose policies have caused this industry to contract and caused the loss of nearly 150,000 farm and ranch families during the past 10 years."

 

[Murgen]

simple mathematics.

Have the imports of the last 10 years displaced the production of those 150,000 farms and ranch families? Name the ones that have gone out of business, and what they produced?

What were they replaced by, net imports, or net exports. Was that the difference? What were their ages? Were they going to retire and exit the market anyway?

Were they inefficient, put out of business by their lack of business sense?

Lot of questions to be answered, eh? Why not look at some stats, check out the average age of farmers now, and see if maybe their sons and daughters would rather be doing something else and ask, "why are family farms being sold to the bigger producers?"

We see it here in Canada too, but we're the ones that the blamers are using as scapegoats. There's nothing different happening here. If anything you in the US have been concentrating for a longer period than we have been in Canada.

 

[Anonymous]

This is the typical "fear mongering" ploy of the left wing of our industry. That's who Leo represents. The bleeding heart liberals of the beef industry. PLEASE GOVERNMENT, SAVE US FROM OURSELVES!


~SH~

 

[HAY MAKER]

This is the typical "fear mongering" ploy of the left wing of our industry. That's who Leo represents. The bleeding heart liberals of the beef industry. PLEASE GOVERNMENT, SAVE US FROM OURSELVES!


~SH~

DAMN WELCHER ..............GOOD LUCK

 

[mrj]

simple mathematics.

Have the imports of the last 10 years displaced the production of those 150,000 farms and ranch families? Name the ones that have gone out of business, and what they produced?

What were they replaced by, net imports, or net exports. Was that the difference? What were their ages? Were they going to retire and exit the market anyway?

Were they inefficient, put out of business by their lack of business sense?

Lot of questions to be answered, eh? Why not look at some stats, check out the average age of farmers now, and see if maybe their sons and daughters would rather be doing something else and ask, "why are family farms being sold to the bigger producers?"

{And even more questions......how many people wanted an easier life/shorter easier work hours than they saw their parents put in?......How many worked years as very low paid help for parents who did not treat them right financially and told their kids not to make a mistake like that?.....Or any of a multitude of variations of family choices, or non-choices that influence younger people to choose other careers than farming. And don't forget those who need or want to do something else for a period of years before returning to production agriculture.........Maybe most important, education is a virtual necessity and technology is driving changes in ag, as well as in all other aspects of the US economy. I've recently heard the point made a few times that it is technology much more than anything else that has caused jobs to go overseas, and also technology that is providing the new jobs. Guess our liberal media doesn't want to print that, though. MRJ}

We see it here in Canada too, but we're the ones that the blamers are using as scapegoats. There's nothing different happening here. If anything you in the US have been concentrating for a longer period than we have been in Canada.