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market-farming - RE: [Market-farming] charging what the market will bear

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Subject: Market Farming

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  • From: "Rick Williams" <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [Market-farming] charging what the market will bear
  • Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2003 17:56:00 -0600

Del Williams wrote:
> This idea that farms operate with continual losses and therefore it makes
> farming something to do without a profit motive acceptable...
>
> It suggest to me that these so called farmers are terrible
> business people.
>
> To continue at an enterprise that is unsuccessful year after year
> and expect
> to continue at it with subsidies is absurd.

It may be hard to believe, but it is unfortunately true. There are so many
people who LOVE farming, LOVE many facets of agriculture, LOVE the
outdoors, LOVE being your own boss at least part of the time, etc. I think I
mentioned before about the fellow I met who is a local teacher and his wife
teaches at a Technical College. They are likely not too far from a six
figure income and they love farming too. And they actually enjoy losing on
average, something around $25,000 per annum. Naturally this offsets their
income so they can shield some of their gains that they do accrue.

The subsidies are a tiny percentage of the actual operation. For example,
other than the one year when the government apparently went on a crazy guilt
trip when prices were bad a few years ago and DOUBLED everybody's AMTA
payment, the payments have been at or below $1000 per year. We are lower
than many farms, but even for a typical small dairy farm that may gross
$150,000 to $250,000, a few thousand is very little. However, when you
combine all the payments in the county it can be in the million dollar class
or more, sometimes much more I would expect in parts of the country.

My point was that people farm mostly because they WANT to farm. Not because
of the money, which is secondary. You folks (some of you anyway) are the
first farmers I have ever heard of who are primarily into the money part of
it. I still am skeptical that is true of very many on this list:)

> My tax dollars might
> be better
> spent supporting the development of profitable businesses that do
> not bleed
> taxpayer money for people who aren't able to run a successful business.

I would prefer no subsidies at all and particularly if the business is
profitable. The very last thing that I want is to subsidize already
profitable businesses. That is irrational in my view. The subsidies for
farms at the current time is well meaning, but is still misguided since the
money causes increased production of subsidized crops and yet lower prices.

> Of course, this all begs the question of whether a farm IS a business.

It depends. I know of outright hobbyists such as some of my neighbors who
actually have said to us that they consider themselves hobbyists. They do
make some money and the guy works his butt off. Plus having a full time job
working for the county. They are very hard working people even if not at
high paying jobs. But they sure love what they do...up to a point. Even this
past year, he admitted that he wondered if he was nuts to work so hard for
so little return. Break even basically when you factor in the machinery
depreciation. Don't get me wrong, some farmers in the area make VERY good
money, well over $100,000 per year after expenses including opportunity
cost/interest, but they are the exception.

Sincerely,

Rick Williams







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