U.S. Farmer Biotech Crops Adoption continues to rise

[ducks4you]

seedcorn wrote:
Small, new tractor around $90,000.

First, I am GLAD that we keep talking about this!!
But, just in case anybody is "hobby farming" like me, on my 5 acres, I have priced a small, brand new John Deere. I want:
a) the tractor
b) the front shovel
c) mower
d) engine plug (to heat up the engine when it's on/below 0 degrees F)
c) small trailer to transport
I can get all of the above for just under $20,000
This is just an FYI, so that anybody who isn't farming a square mile, knows that a small tractor won't be totally out of the question.

I DO KNOW, however, how much the farmers who live around me have to spend to make a living. I get to see fields that flood out and have to be replanted. I also get to see the elevators put up their overflow, temporary silos on the cement outside of their permanent silos. I ALSO get to hear about farmers who had to harvest their corn in FEBRUARY, just to get their profit. I am SURE that farmer's would plant different crops and happily rotate more than just corn and soybeans IF they could make a living that way. I'm not driving by farmers who have newly painted barns, and building additions on their homes and doing the "suburban" keeping up with the Jone's stuff right now. We should keep up the good fight!!

 

[hoodat]

I decided to go with the blue corn for corn meal even though it's a bit off for corn bread (but just right for tortillas). Please don't tell me they've gotten around to GMOing blue corn.

 

[lesa]

Hoodat- anything labeled organic is not GMO. That is one of the requirements. I buy less and less from the grocery. Have been making all our bread for years. No snacks, certainly no soda. Dh likes corn chips- but we buy the organic, non GMO brand. I have already made more pickles this year, than the law allows!!
Ducks- we have a wonderful tractor that I love! It is a Ford from the 1960's. It runs like a top and cost about 2000.00. It has a bucket, and a snowplow. We got a flail mower from craigslist and a tiller attachment from a junk pile. I tell hubby that there is nothing sexier than a man on a tractor!

 

[hoodat]

Hoodat- anything labeled organic is not GMO. That is one of the requirements. I buy less and less from the grocery. Have been making all our bread for years. No snacks, certainly no soda. Dh likes corn chips- but we buy the organic, non GMO brand. I have already made more pickles this year, than the law allows!!
Ducks- we have a wonderful tractor that I love! It is a Ford from the 1960's. It runs like a top and cost about 2000.00. It has a bucket, and a snowplow. We got a flail mower from craigslist and a tiller attachment from a junk pile. I tell hubby that there is nothing sexier than a man on a tractor!

You must have a huge bed.

 

[wifezilla]

 

[seedcorn]

That is the joy of keeping it small! And the joy of biodiversity. I would never plant one crop. Nor would I plant feed crops, as an alternative to pasture raising. Somehow we got to doing everything backwards! There were headlines in our local paper about our dairy farmers going back to pasturing their livestock. No planting, no tractors, no bailing, just cows doing what they do naturally! These farmers were actually on a "field trip" to see this in action.

My neighbor tried this 2X. You still have to plant, have tractors, etc. You still have to bail, do silage (self propelled silage chopper is $250,000), etc. When pastures dry up or winter over, cows still eat. So you are going to buy your grains, silage, hay? Guaranateed you will be broke farming that way in 3 months.

Cows don't produce as well, don't get anymore for his milk, so lose $$ as feed bills, taxes, land payments, insurance, school bills (who do you think pays for all the schools--farmers) electric bills, etc continue.

No matter how you cut it, you have to generate over $800/acre to be a full time professional farmer with $600 or less per acre on expenses.

The small $20,000 deere is a nice tractor for working around home but don't try to farm w/it, not built for that. I bought one when they were $9000, great for mowing, etc but no guts for work. $2000 Ford is a STEAL...........you should be arrested

 

[vfem]

That is the joy of keeping it small! And the joy of biodiversity. I would never plant one crop. Nor would I plant feed crops, as an alternative to pasture raising. Somehow we got to doing everything backwards! There were headlines in our local paper about our dairy farmers going back to pasturing their livestock. No planting, no tractors, no bailing, just cows doing what they do naturally! These farmers were actually on a "field trip" to see this in action.

My neighbor tried this 2X. You still have to plant, have tractors, etc. You still have to bail, do silage (self propelled silage chopper is $250,000), etc. When pastures dry up or winter over, cows still eat. So you are going to buy your grains, silage, hay? Guaranateed you will be broke farming that way in 3 months.

Cows don't produce as well, don't get anymore for his milk, so lose $$ as feed bills, taxes, land payments, insurance, school bills (who do you think pays for all the schools--farmers) electric bills, etc continue.

No matter how you cut it, you have to generate over $800/acre to be a full time professional farmer with $600 or less per acre on expenses.

The small $20,000 deere is a nice tractor for working around home but don't try to farm w/it, not built for that. I bought one when they were $9000, great for mowing, etc but no guts for work. $2000 Ford is a STEAL...........you should be arrested

People do farm this way and turn a profit. The problem for people trying to GO that way who are traditionally farming now, is they are already in debt for what they've bought, to try to change your way in a full 180 all of a sudden is just crazy. Its like starting a new business changing how your business works. Most businesses have to make HUGE initial investments to make a serious change. Like in the food industry, changing their brand logo, changing packaging and changing the recipes in which they make their profits takes a huge initial cost... expecting an immediate profit is silly.

Either make the change slowly... or like Lesa said, its good to go get information from farmers that are currently completely working like that, and what changes they had to make, and where they had to cut costs or what they had to put in out of pocket up front.

I don't think $20k for a tractor is bad for a small farm, yet again, Duck has 5 acres. Its for her hobby, and right now there are a slew of hobby farms out there... If they ever want to grow they'll know to trade up and there investments will have to expand. Though I don't see many people wanting to expand, or affording an expansion in these times.

 

[seedcorn]

People do farm this way and turn a profit

That was not the debate, small farmers do turn a profit, it's just that 20 years ago, we could live on $15,000/year, now that doesn't even cover school taxes and buying any land at all.

Those who live in cities have taxed the Ag community to poverty, need a new school, want to remodel the school, just add property taxes to the farmer. Average age of farmers is in 60's, don't think they have any kids left in school..how about making the people who live in town w/expensive houses or live in nice apartments, pay for schools?????

 

[wifezilla]

Those who live in cities have taxed the Ag community to poverty

TOTALLY agree! I have seen so many farms chopped up in to tiny bits or converted to housing because of taxes. Inheritance taxes did the most damage. If farmer Brown died, Mrs. Brown would often have to sell half the place just to pay off the bill. It happened all around me in Northern Wisconsin when I was growing up.

 

[hoodat]

It's always been that way. The people who supply the farmer make the most money, those who move the crop to market are next in line, the grocers do all right and if he's lucky the farmer is left with a few crumbs.
That's why the trend is to grow organically, not just on principle but to cut the supplier out of the loop for the most part, then sell directly to the consumer, cutting out the middleman and grocer.
A lot still has to be done. There is still a disconnect between the farmer and consumer but it's being worked on. Only small farms have a chance of operating this way and it works best with specialty crops like herbs where not every farmer grows it. On small farms more work can be done with hand tools and small, relatively inexpensive power tools like tillers instead of tractors.
The biggest problem is getting the consumer to accept what is in season, such as buying kale in cool weather when they would really like tomatos.