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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] subchapter S Corporate farms perserve farming traditions

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  • From: Claude Sweet <hortventures@cox.net>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] subchapter S Corporate farms perserve farming traditions
  • Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2003 10:02:15 -0800

Some people have deeply held beliefs that are akin to religious convictions. I will not change their convictions. I do believe there are many other factors that should be considered. The founding of our nation required 95% of the people to live on a farm and to barter for items. We have now transformed to nation where 5% live on a farm, allowing the other 95% to pursue other goals and objectives.
I am ignoring the statements that demonize the food producers because they are large. We can not have a productive discussion when using a board paint bush to describe people who have a tradition of farming that requires a subchapter S corporation to protect their assets and attempt to preserve the tradition. Even children who grow up on a farm may not wish to personally be involved in the farming activity as a career. When senior family members die there can be inheritance problems, especially if some family members want a cash settlement.

There have been lots of suggestions on this list that producing and processing your own food is cheaper than what can be purchased in the store. These statements are not true if the true cost of a person's time and cost of facilities/tools etc. are considered. There also is another cost involved - alternative uses of capital that are risk free.

I caution people to be realistic about these factors, especially if considering a small business opportunity. Over the years I have advised many people who contemplate such ventures and provide all of the management and most of the physical effort - "What will you do when you require time off for personal business, illness, disabilities, or death?". Will the business be able to continue without your direct input and oversight.

If you like to grow and process food for personal use, such arguments may out weight other considerations if your financial circumstances allow. I have grown such items that I could have purchased cheaper from commercial sources. Some have been direct from the grower and were just as fresh and tasty as if I produced them myself. They were not as convenient to acquire and required additional time and effort to procure when compare to a home garden.

Growing any plant and cooking can provide personal satisfaction and pleasure, even a relief from daily stress and tension. These are personal choices in a life style I highly recommend. However, our society could not exist if each individual had to produce the necessary food and fiber required to feed, house, and cloth our families without a drastic impact on everyday activities many consider as part our basic existence.

Imagine if we had to depend on real horsepower for transportation. We would also have a real pollution problem of a different nature. There also would be limitations in the distance we could travel in a day. The specialization of the individual farmer to produce fewer items and attempt to lower their costs through economies of scale are part of the collective problem of overproduction that causes market prices to fall as demand is saturated. Individual decisions related to production and marketing that designed to benefit the individual also can collectively produce an adverse effect if a large group of other producers make the same choice.

To counteract the specialized farming operations, nitch production of organic and exotic crops began to emerge. As these efforts become more productive (commercialized) the growers discover that their prices fall and they no longer command a premium. Some can compete in the market place and others fail. Such is the natural course of farming cycles unless there are federal controls on production and price supports. These actions do guarantee that there is a supply of food which is relative stable, except for minor blips cause by adverse weather conditions. Consumers also benefit by reducing the widely inflated prices which occur when supplies are restricted by artificial withdraw of production caused by growers not planting as they permanently cease production (go out of business).

As horticultural writers we must provide information that is objective and balanced to assist the reader. One sided personal views should be clearly presented as editorials, a luxury most writers only achieve if they become a senior editor or publisher.

Claude Sweet
San Diego, CA





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