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Time to wean agriculture?

Maple Leaf Angus

Well-known member
The following column deserves careful consideration. Unfortunately, I missed the meeting where Ikerd spoke.

The CFFO Commentary
Title: A Change of Heart, a Change in Advice
By John Clement
November 17, 2006
Back in the 1980s, John Ikerd began to change his mind about farming and its future. A former head of the Department of Extension Agricultural Economics at the University of Georgia, Ikerd was a traditional, free-market agricultural economist. He believed that competitive markets are the most capable means of meeting the needs of people, for producers as well as consumers. He advised family farmers to manage their businesses for the economic “bottom line” and to not let family business interfere with farm business.

The U.S. farm financial crisis of the 1980s shook his beliefs in those assumptions. A domestic recession and the loss of export markets had left farmers with large debts, high interest rates, rising input costs, and plunging commodity prices. Ikerd particularly began to see that the farmers with the biggest financial problems were those who had been doing the things economic experts had been telling them to do. And he began to believe that he and his fellow agricultural experts were an important part of the cause for the crisis confronting American agriculture.

Ikerd brought the story of his changed outlook on farming --- and its lessons for the future --- to this year’s annual convention of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. The prime conclusion he left the audience with is that industrial agriculture is simply not sustainable. Ikerd said that industrial agriculture consumes more physical and social energy than it returns and has about a 50-year window of opportunity to change its ways. Instead, he believes that we must move towards a sustainable agriculture that is patterned more on living systems than on an industrialized, factory approach.

Ikerd’s prescription for the future advocates broad, sweeping changes in government policies. He told the CFFO audience that “our agriculture of today is not the natural consequence of the workings of free markets in a competitive global market economy, as economists would lead us to believe. Our agriculture is largely a reflection of our past agricultural policies. The farm policies of all so-called industrial nations have been shaped by the misperception that national food security could best be insured through greater productivity and that industrialization was the best means of achieving greater productivity.”

According to Ikerd, there are now many reasons to question the wisdom of continuing public policies that subsidize large-scale, industrial production agriculture. His prescription for future government policies includes public support only to sustainable farmers and mutually beneficial trade arrangements that do no disrupt social or environmental stewardship. He also wants to see a bedrock commitment to sustaining land and the natural environment, plus incentives for stewardship over incentives for productivity gains. Finally, he wants to see consumers being widely educated and informed about the need for local food. Ikerd counseled those at the CFFO Convention that “sustainability is ultimately an ethical and moral choice.”

An unlikely prophet, Ikerd’s call to change our ways was taken seriously by many of those attending the CFFO Convention. Like Ikerd himself, they believe that the business of farming should always be kept in balance with the need to be stewards of the resources entrusted to our care. Regardless of whether you agree with his prescriptions, Ikerd’s perspective has enduring value.
 

DiamondSCattleCo

Well-known member
He sounds interesting, MLA. Any chance that a transcript of his speech would be available somewhere?

I've long believed that many of teachings of our agriculturalists have led to the downfall of the small family operation in Canada. Diversification has effectively turned medium sized grain farms into small grain farms and small livestock operations (or the inverse, medium sized livestock operations into small operations), where they've been picked apart by our current government policies of supporting the large producers.

Rod
 

Maple Leaf Angus

Well-known member
I don't know if there would be a transcript, Rod. I wouls suggest going to the CFFO website and you could get in touch with the good folks that staff the organization. They could tell you.

What? You think bigger isn't better!? :wink:
 

Econ101

Well-known member
Maple Leaf Angus said:
I don't know if there would be a transcript, Rod. I wouls suggest going to the CFFO website and you could get in touch with the good folks that staff the organization. They could tell you.

What? You think bigger isn't better!? :wink:

Think spinach or huge meat recalls.
 

PORKER

Well-known member
Ditto Rod,I've long believed that many of teachings of our agriculturalists have led to the downfall of the small family operation in Canada. AND Everywhere ! Large operations spread the problem over a larger area and when a mistake is made ,it is multiplied over a huge area.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
Having farmed through 1980 and survived, I have always believed that Ag economist are the worst enemies producers have...nothing personal Econ and Agman!!!! :eek: :shock: :wink:

The commoditization of production agriculture has shifted profits to those who control access(the bottle neck) to the commodity markets....protein processors and grain brokers(these companies are also input providers, so they are shafting the producer coming and going :mad: ). Do you blame the University PhDs and producer organization leadership...or do you blame the producers for blindly following? Sad!
 

Mike

Well-known member
RobertMac said:
Having farmed through 1980 and survived, I have always believed that Ag economist are the worst enemies producers have...nothing personal Econ and Agman!!!! :eek: :shock: :wink:

The commoditization of production agriculture has shifted profits to those who control access(the bottle neck) to the commodity markets....protein processors and grain brokers(these companies are also input providers, so they are shafting the producer coming and going :mad: ).

Who said this?.................................................

He announces that global capitalism is a delusion. "There isn't one grain of anything in the world that is sold in a free market. Not one! The only place you see a free market is in the speeches of politicians. People who are not in the Midwest do not understand that this is a socialist country."

Hint: The largest grain broker in the world!
 

fedup2

Well-known member
To go along with your comments:

[Robert Shapiro, author of a corporate welfare report for the Progressive Policy Institute, describes ADM's federally supported journey this way: "ADM begins by buying the corn at subsidized prices. Then it uses the corn to make corn sweeteners, which are subsidized by the sugar program. Then it uses the remainder for the big subsidy, which is ethanol."]
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Oh, so now we are going to blame ag economists as if they have that much influence on our decisions. Hahaha! The blame never ends!

....meanwhile, successful operations continue to expand their ranches.

But then, those guys don't listen to the doomsday prophets on Ranchers.net either.

Harlan Hughes data shows a $250 per head difference between low cost and high cost producers.

The chronic bitchers are usually chasing rodeos around the country with their Ford dually and Featherlite trailers while their progressive neighbor is putting in a rotational grazing system and developing water to diversify his grazing on the land he just purchased. Guess which one blames packers, imports, and ag economists?

While the blamer is bitching about what he got for his calves and blaming imports instead of higher corn prices, the progressive rancher feeds his own cattle out with alternative feedstuffs or runs them on wheat pasture and markets them through a branded beef program that awards him for his higher quality genetics. Guess which one blames packers and imports and which one is expanding his operation and attends every educational seminar available?


~SH~
 

S.S.A.P.

Well-known member
PORKER said:
Ditto Rod,I've long believed that many of teachings of our agriculturalists have led to the downfall of the small family operation in Canada. AND Everywhere ! Large operations spread the problem over a larger area and when a mistake is made ,it is multiplied over a huge area.

Would you consider the company you constantly endorse large and spread over a large area?
 

andybob

Well-known member
My fellow countryman, Alan Savory has been preaching pretty much the same topic for over 40 years, which is why after years of being maligned by his peers, it is good to see how well the Centre for Holistic management is doing. If we are not willing to change the system which has been imposed on us, the commercial farmer will be as extinct as the Dodo once this generation has passed!
 

Econ101

Well-known member
RobertMac said:
Having farmed through 1980 and survived, I have always believed that Ag economist are the worst enemies producers have...nothing personal Econ and Agman!!!! :eek: :shock: :wink:

The commoditization of production agriculture has shifted profits to those who control access(the bottle neck) to the commodity markets....protein processors and grain brokers(these companies are also input providers, so they are shafting the producer coming and going :mad: ). Do you blame the University PhDs and producer organization leadership...or do you blame the producers for blindly following? Sad!

Robert Mac, I would agree with you. The economists at GIPSA are being used to give credence to the cheating in the industry. It is too bad.

When you mix economics with national goals, you get something like oil and water. The sugar industry was protected from world markets because communist countries (Cuba mainly) were subsidizing their sugar production with communist labor. They do have an absolute competitive advantage with sugar beets, but the leaders of the country thought it a good idea to make sure the domestic industry remained and we didn't depend on Cuba's totalitarian sugar. The recent shortages in sugar in WWII was fresh in thier minds when they decided this policy.

Economists have argued the world price of sugar is so much lower that we as a nation are subsidizing beet growers. Hey, they were right!!! There was a bigger goal of preventing Cuba from gaining all of the market and us under threat of shortened supplies. You can look in classic economic textbooks and find these economic arguments against sugar quotas but they do not take into account the national goals.

There are real reasons not to do business with some people. Our values of freedom and liberty should be one of them. Walmart and its stockholders could care less about these goals if they can make a buck off of the differences. They could care less about the domestic industries that are lost because this trade. The "free traders" don't really care about freedom as we know it. They will go with the lowest price to make the most money. Packers are no different.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
~SH~ said:
Oh, so now we are going to blame ag economists as if they have that much influence on our decisions. Hahaha! The blame never ends!

....meanwhile, successful operations continue to expand their ranches.

But then, those guys don't listen to the doomsday prophets on Ranchers.net either.

Harlan Hughes data shows a $250 per head difference between low cost and high cost producers.

The chronic bitchers are usually chasing rodeos around the country with their Ford dually and Featherlite trailers while their progressive neighbor is putting in a rotational grazing system and developing water to diversify his grazing on the land he just purchased. Guess which one blames packers, imports, and ag economists?

While the blamer is bitching about what he got for his calves and blaming imports instead of higher corn prices, the progressive rancher feeds his own cattle out with alternative feedstuffs or runs them on wheat pasture and markets them through a branded beef program that awards him for his higher quality genetics. Guess which one blames packers and imports and which one is expanding his operation and attends every educational seminar available?


~SH~

I utilize a rotational grazing system that I'm about to start the winter grazing....I'm seriously considering an irrigation system on the land I'm purchasing...I only utilize "alternative feedstuffs"--PASTURE...my closed herd, linebred, high quality genetics are starting to pay dividends through my OWN branded beef program. Two things I didn't need...university educational seminars to get me where I am...and a gopher trapper that thinks he is smarter than all of us in real world production agriculture!!!!! 8)

Isn't there something you should be doing to earn your government pay check?????
 

Econ101

Well-known member
SH talks a lot about the cattle business. I want to ask him something he might know about.

SH, can you tell us about your job and income from trapping? How did you get on the govt. payroll for that? Is it through the USDA?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
RM: "I utilize a rotational grazing system that I'm about to start the winter grazing....I'm seriously considering an irrigation system on the land I'm purchasing...I only utilize "alternative feedstuffs"--PASTURE...my closed herd, linebred, high quality genetics are starting to pay dividends through my OWN branded beef program."

Well bully for you! That doesn't keep you from whining about packers, imports, and all the rest of the things you blamers piss and moan about.


RM: "Two things I didn't need...university educational seminars to get me where I am...and a gopher trapper that thinks he is smarter than all of us in real world production agriculture!!!!!"

Nobody said every university educational seminar has application to everyone's program but if you are so narrow minded that you don't think you can learn anything from research, go ahead and limit yourself. I sure as hell don't care what you do.

I never took advise from a gopher trapper either but I sure as hell don't suck my thumb and blame packers, imports, USDA, NCBA, GIPSA, the court system and all the rest of the things you blamers dwell on.


Conman: "SH talks a lot about the cattle business. I want to ask him something he might know about."

From the Liar who just said he doesn't read my posts. HAHAHA! What a moron!


Conman: "SH, can you tell us about your job and income from trapping? How did you get on the govt. payroll for that? Is it through the USDA?"

DIVERSION!


~SH~
 
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