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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Lofty Prices for Fertilizer Put Farmers in aSqueeze

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: "Don Bowen" <don.bowen@earthlink.net>, livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Lofty Prices for Fertilizer Put Farmers in aSqueeze
  • Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 10:04:26 -0600


But those rising prices hit industrial agriculture and most small growers can
get around it with local manure and compost. I do. And those of us who have
better sense than to sell to China-Mart set our own prices. The old mantra of
"get big or get out" has bankrupted millions. Meanwhile, I'm raising prices
to keep up with the supermarkets. But my costs are NOT rising. Gross minus
costs = profit. Inflation is a two way escalator. We can be on the downside
or the upside. We saw this coming two or three years ago and we decided to
get on the upside.

Who was it who said, the definition of insanity is to keep doing something
the same way and expect different results?

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 5/30/2008 at 8:40 AM Don Bowen wrote:

>>What a great time to grow without commercial fertilizers.
>>Our costs don't go up - theirs do, and so do their food prices
>
>Organic compost fertilizers are going up as farmers switch to cheaper
>alternatives. Huge piles of animal wastes are disappearing as chemical
>fertilizer prices rise and costs of spreading manures is reduced by
>comparison. Also the fuel costs to deliver is increasing. As an
>unintended
>consequence supplies of organic composts are decreasing and the industry
>is
>not equipped for the sudden new demands. At least one farmer I know had
>to
>forgo an application of compost just because it was not available by the
>time he needed to plant.
>
>Cover crops as fertilizer is still doing well outside the significantly
>increased costs of fuel. With ag fuels running over $4 a gallon and road
>fuels over $5 many farmers are having to raise prices but are unable to do
>so because WalMart is setting many prices.
>
>Don Bowen KI6DIU
>http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html
>






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