Posted by paul on December 21, 2018 at 12:45:43 from (76.77.197.114):
In Reply to: Traditonal Farmer posted by rrlund on December 21, 2018 at 11:38:15:
couple of farmers retired this fall around me, sold out and rented out. One was dairy, other was crops.
Both younger than me.
Just had enough. Grass is greener elsewhere.
Kinda sad. They both were doing it for several decades, but far from retirement.
Would be hard to look at ag as the future if I were in my 20s.
Seems to get a big push into Ag every couple of decades.
When the plow and reaper replaced arm strength hoeing and scythe swinging.
When the tractor replaced the horse. And the hybrid corn replaced the open pollinated.
Maybe when the 4wd big machines came along about the same time herbicides came along.
The latest round is technology, managing many acres under one umbrella and sort of being able to keep on top of it. Add in the cheap labor of the current import labor force (trying not to be political).
Each step let’s fewer people control more land and more management, a smaller circle of real players in the farm game.
If organic is profitable, there will be those that scam the system, as that one deal we just read about; and the big players will try to manage into a large farm operation with higher profits for their mega acres as well. If we somehow want to feed the folks living in downtown Chicago and LA and NYC then really organic would have to go big time. Selling some freezer beef and turnips out the end of my driveway doesn’t serve very many people or reach very far?
It will be interesting what comes next.
Most other businesses have gone through the same. Sears and Montgomery Wards pushed out little stores.
Now Sears and Montgomery wArds are pushed out. The grocery stores have merged into maybe 2 large names controlling nearly every store out there?
Auto makers are down to 3, and they are rapidly shutting down actual car making going to pickups and suv stuff only.
Ag dealerships are going down to about 40-50 actual dealer groups across the country no more local dealers, and I would be surprised if we keep 4 big Ag companies in the country. (And I’m counting Kubota as one.) wonder which will merge in the next 10 years.
Poultry and hogs merged up to a closed loop years ago.
Dairy is currently consolidating into a vertical closed loop.
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