Feild Tile.

[get-n-birdy]

Q: What's an ethanol mandate?
A: Another subsidy for farmers not included in the farm bill.

How much shit fuel are consumers forced to buy under what is essentially another government handout to farmers?

There shouldn't be a dime of taxpayer money spent on crop insurance. We shouldn't be subsidizing it. Let private insurers offer it (they won't because they'd lose their ass or it'd be comically expensive).

No one loves to preach more about the Free Market than farmers...yet there is nothing more Socialist than the American Farmer.

X2!

[randywatson]

http://farm.ewg.org/cropinsurance.php

http://farm.ewg.org/region.php?fips=27000

Here's your numbers fellas

15.8 billion crop insurance cost the taxpayers in 2012

[randywatson]

http://static.ewg.org/reports/2012/farm ... 1374201699

[tornadochaser]

how do you become a farmer without being born into it?

You don't.

I can think of 3 guys I graduated with that all started farming last year and didn't own an acre of land, didn't own any implements, and didn't grow up on farms. Depending on rent, commodities, equipment leases, and custom harvesting costs, it can pencil out, but that's probably during the best of times only. This year? Doubtful with $2.85 corn. Will they still be in the game next year? That's up to the bank.

I wish my job was so easy. 4x4 right? I can handle 4 weeks in the spring and 4 weeks in the fall. Do nothing the rest of the year but drink coffee and bitch about stuff in the cafe.
Heck maybe I should give up my office job and pull our 600 acres from the renter and give it a go. I mean, all I have to do is sign up for some tax payer subsidized crop insurance, bulldoze some shelterbelts, and roll the CRP and I will instantly have a new GMC and a lexion combine in the driveway. According to some its that simple.

[Waterfowlist]

No I'm not suggesting you become a farmer as I realize you would surely go out of business. Why wouldn't you become a farmer if you believe farmers cannot lose money and the gov't will simply cut you check for what you actually made and what you should have made?

F it anyway, what's the difference. Better giving it to lazy ass farmer Joe than send it to some country in the middle east.

how do you become a farmer without being born into it?

You don't.

My grandpa had a farm hand that started his own farm. Has a few sections now

[Goldfish]

Wth is a feild?

[Fish Felon]

I wish my job was so easy. 4x4 right? I can handle 4 weeks in the spring and 4 weeks in the fall. Do nothing the rest of the year but drink coffee and bitch about stuff in the cafe.
Heck maybe I should give up my office job and pull our 600 acres from the renter and give it a go.

If you have 600 acres of decent land to you free and clear and you haven't got in on the racket then you're not very smart.

What's holding you back?

[dwendt]

No I'm not suggesting you become a farmer as I realize you would surely go out of business. Why wouldn't you become a farmer if you believe farmers cannot lose money and the gov't will simply cut you check for what you actually made and what you should have made?

F it anyway, what's the difference. Better giving it to lazy ass farmer Joe than send it to some country in the middle east.

how do you become a farmer without being born into it?

You don't.

Wrong. You can marry in.

[tornadochaser]

If you have 600 acres of decent land to you free and clear and you haven't got in on the racket then you're not very smart.

What's holding you back?

I've penciled it out. Quick math based on the tools at hand: 600 acres, say 100 corn on corn, 300 corn on beans, and 200 beans. $3 corn and $8.65 beans would net around $90K after inputs. Knock off $50K for the agreed upon rental rate I would pay family for the land (which is well below what we get from the current renter), and I net $40K. But then I have grain storage costs, additional equipment rental costs, and buying my own health insurance just to toss in variables not covered. I would be lucky to break even this year. And due to the location of where the land is, there would be very little chance of picking up additional acres nearby for anything less than $225 an acre non irrigated.

[h2ofwlr]

If the US Govt (taxpayers did not fund that $15.8B I wonder what would happen?

Meaning if insurance COs under wrote crop Ins just like vehicle Ins, I wounder what would happen?


Do you really think the farmer would get chaeap Ins on a part of a field that floods every other year and drowns out the crop? Probably they could get Ins -- but the premium would be 60% of the potential pay out. Talk about "risk" Ins, it'd make those Ins preumiums seem cheap with those with DWI in their recent past.

The point is that the true risk is not being charged to the farmers directly as it is now. The old wetland areas that were ditched and tiled would not be farmed IF the private sector were involved in issuing crop Ins policies. Nor would future wetland destruction happen when the farmer knows that there is no profitable way to farm it. If that happened - then the farmers would force the County commisioners to charge a way lower proprty tax on these lowlands that are not profitable to farm. This is why the Cty commisioners will NOT currently allow wetland restorations as it'd be taken off the premium rate tax rolls. So until the farmer themselves see no financial benefit - nothing will change - the wetlands will not be restored in prime farming areas and the wetlands that are left will comntinue to be drained under the current crop Ins policy.