for the love of all that is holy and unholy, plant barley so that beer prices can come down

Subby, you win the internet.

/+1

Are all those farmers that we're paying not to grow a goddamn thing going to reconsider their decision to accept gross taxpayer subsidies?

kronicfeld: Are all those farmers that we're paying not to grow a goddamn thing going to reconsider their decision to accept gross taxpayer subsidies?

no, they're all growing corn now to take advantage of ethanol subsidies we taxpayers are giving them.

ethanol--the new hotness. cheap food--old and busted

kronicfeld: Are all those farmers that we're paying not to grow a goddamn thing going to reconsider their decision to accept gross taxpayer subsidies?

We've been paying Canadian farmers not to grow things? This is an outrage! Get my congressman on the phone! Wire the mayor! Telegraph the president! Send smoke signals to Ted Kennedy!

Actually, ethanol production is jump-starting prices and I don't think this was widely foreseen.

Was talking to the CEO of a large regional bakery last week... he said the same thing, flour prices going up 300% by year's end.

/Scary

Does anyone think that base food prices rising (and ergo processed food prices rising) will have an affect on the obesity level?

Whoever said that was not a farmer. Farmers know better than to say things like that.

*cues the Locusts, Dust storms, Drought, Republicans, Genetically modified spores, and Frograts, n firewasps.

Rain-Monkey:
/Scary

Becaue they bought the business plan from big oil.

h to the 'ojo: Does anyone think that base food prices rising (and ergo processed food prices rising) will have an affect on the obesity level?

Sadly, I think diminishing the amount of food in a served fast food portion rather than increasing the price for the current amount would have the wanted effect on obesity levels.

The Australian wheat crop failed last year, which is one of the contributing factors to price increases. Here in New Zealand the focus is more on livestock - though many farmers are converting from sheep to dairy. Milk products are making money hand over fist - add to that the fact that the cattle are fed on pasture rather than having to buy feed so there are significant savings.

In before the morans thrashing subby for putting a joke in quotation marks

vudukungfu: *cues the Locusts, Dust storms, Drought, Republicans, Genetically modified spores, and Frograts, n firewasps.

You forgot Poland.

"Some farmers" are increasingly agri-conglomerates, and "some investors" are increasingly thankful for Monsanto, GM corn, and Terminator Seed, all hail TFM.

And you thought Ted Turner liked Buffalo

/snark

my crops never lose money.

FTFA:

"This is, in my mind, one of those once-in-a-career years, that profits this year can make up for a fair number of bad years," he said.

I read that and I see this:

"Let the people starve, we're gonna be rich, biatch!"

/gonna salt this guy's earth

Alphakronik: my crops never lose money.

We need a Pot thread. The one earlier bombed. I cant survive my Saturday night shift without a good pot thread.

Farm speculation isn't doing too hot. Last year in my region all the farmers started planting more corn, as opposed to cotton, because ethanol was going to make prices skyrocket.

We had a draught and the corn crop was farked. Cotton would have made it.

I always thought it'd be cool to grow all my food. But vegetables aside, growing wheat seems so hard.

1derful: Farm speculation isn't doing too hot. Last year in my region all the farmers started planting more corn, as opposed to cotton, because ethanol was going to make prices skyrocket.

We had a draught and the corn crop was farked. Cotton would have made it.

you had a beer and the corn crop died? amazing.

1derful: Farm speculation isn't doing too hot. Last year in my region all the farmers started planting more corn, as opposed to cotton, because ethanol was going to make prices skyrocket.

We had a draught and the corn crop was farked. Cotton would have made it.

That's because farmers are idiots.

Not all farmers will benefit from this, the ones who have to buy grain to supplement feed for their livestock.

/one of them
/$283.00 per ton of corn is way too much

You heathens! Don't we already have a perfectly good use for corn besides burning it in combustion engines?

/And, of course, by "a perfectly good use" I mean drinking it after it's been fermented inside wooden barrels, as God intended.

So the price of wheat has tripled. So instead of 7 cents, a loaf of bread now has 21 cents worth of wheat? OMG!

Old_Chief_Scott: think this was widely foreseen.

Plenty of us have been screaming this from the start. Where have you been?

The price of pizza is going way up!!!

sorhed: 1derful: Farm speculation isn't doing too hot. Last year in my region all the farmers started planting more corn, as opposed to cotton, because ethanol was going to make prices skyrocket.

We had a draught and the corn crop was farked. Cotton would have made it.

That's because farmers are idiots.

Jerk. Farmers are excellent businessmen, managers, economists, etc. They need to factor in so many variables: weather, future commodities markets, interest rates, prices on a whole variety of products they must use (fertilizers, seed), and they must find agricultural workers just at the perfect time for the harvest.

They're wonderful people, and they expend an unbelievable amount of time and effort and love into something that usually pays them just a slight margin of profit, after all the expenses are factored in.

Haha, Subs

Well done.

Someone is making a ton of money in a capitalist economy? Oh NOES!

My family in the Ohio valley is about to make more this year off wheat harvest than the last 4 years combined.

What we need is some more corn...can't we get some farmers to grow more corn?

Huggermugger: sorhed:farmers are idiots.

Jerk. Farmers are excellent businessmen, managers, economists, etc. They need to factor in so many variables: weather, future commodities markets, interest rates, prices on a whole variety of products they must use (fertilizers, seed), and they must find agricultural workers just at the perfect time for the harvest.

They're wonderful people, and they expend an unbelievable amount of time and effort and love into something that usually pays them just a slight margin of profit, after all the expenses are factored in.

Yeah, but like what have they ever done for me?

*bites into a roast beef on rye sandwich, washing the mouthful down with a glass of milk.*

Commodity prices for all bakery supplies are through the roof. That's only if you don't deal with China. The amount of Chinese ingredients is rising faster than wheat prices.

/work for one of the largest bakery suppliers in the world

OKAY GUYS YOU CAN STOP TURNING FAMRS INTO MCMANSIONS NOW

kronicfeld: Are all those farmers that we're paying not to grow a goddamn thing going to reconsider their decision to accept gross taxpayer subsidies?

Don't blame the farmers, it's the government that set it up in the first place. A friend of mine is one of those farmers. His family farm used to be entirely tobacco, now it's soybeans, corn and a ton of other stuff on 800 acres. The retooling from tobacco to something more useful doesn't happen overnight. He was paid a couple years to NOT grow tobacco, but needed time to clear out the fields, old crop, let the fields lay fallow (which is good for the soil in the future) then purchase or retool equipment for the new type of planting.

At the moment he doesn't need subsidies, nor has taken any in almost 10 years (diversifying crops helps) as he says corn is "teh shiat" now and as long as the market holds the value he's doing pretty well. That said, farming is an expensive venture that's entirely dependent on water, obviously. A couple harvesters and combines, even used, can set you back half a million or more. Maintaining them isn't cheap either.

RamblingKey
My family in the Ohio valley is about to make more this year off wheat harvest than the last 4 years combined.

Haw Haw I see what you did there

Yeah, it's not like there was ever an Irish potato famine or anything.

in the beginning of every year, every "analyst" makes a ton of public predictions. by the end of the year, none ever come true.

/ yeah, i know, it's different this time

albo: for the love of all that is holy and unholy, plant barley so that beer prices can come down

Actually it's the hops that have helped raise the prices significantly. I am sincerely hoping for a burgeoning gruet-ale industry to rise from this mess.

Marjoram mead anyone?

Can't go wrong you say? Looks like my coming bumper crop of dandelions and goldenrod ought to make me a fortune!

sorhed:

That's because farmers are idiots.


I don't think that you know how much a farmer has to know these days; they do it all from running the business, to staying current on techniques, to managing employees to maintaining the equipment to actually doing the work and finally putting their own money up each year to finance a risky operation. I just have feeling that you'd be bust in 6 months.

This is my favorite tag line so far...hilarious!

Smellvin: Can't go wrong you say? Looks like my coming bumper crop of dandelions and goldenrod ought to make me a fortune!

My great grandmother used to cultivate beds of dandelions for dandelion wine and salad greens. Go for it -- very low maintenance.

i bet this will end well

KarmicDisaster: sorhed:

That's because farmers are idiots.


I don't think that you know how much a farmer has to know these days; they do it all from running the business, to staying current on techniques, to managing employees to maintaining the equipment to actually doing the work and finally putting their own money up each year to finance a risky operation. I just have feeling that you'd be bust in 6 months.

sorhed is just angry about that time he was caught behind the barn with a sheep. the farmer was very rude to him.

Welcome to stagflation.

It's not like record food prices were predicted years ago by the Peak Oil nuts or anything...

I have an uncle who farms two squares in ND. He's feeling confident, but all of his costs are rising so its not the windfall that some are forecasting, at least for the farmer.

I'm sure the commodity brokers will do well.